Alice In Otherland
by Salsa849
Summary: Alice Kingsley wants to return to Underland. But it only takes one tiny, impulsive action  to put that hopeful future into jeopardy, and throw her head over heels into another, quite different place...a place called Otherland. AlicexHatter
1. A Wrong Turning

**Summary: **Alice Kingsley wants to return to Underland. But one tiny, impulsive action is enough to put that hopeful future into jeopardy, and throw her head over heels into another, quite different place...a place called Otherland. Alice/Hatter pairing.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Alice in Wonderland, it belongs to Lewis Carroll&Tim Burton :)

**Rating: **T for safety

**Hey everyone! Ok I recently finished my first multi-chapter Alice in Wonderland fanfic, & literally the day after I did I was bombarded by ideas for this one! :D This starts off like a lot of other fanfiction stories, as you will see, but I promise similarities end there :) Please review & let me know if you like it& want to read more! **

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**Alice In Otherland**

Chapter 1- A Wrong Turning

Alice smiled to herself as she stood at the prow of the ship _Wonder,_ watching as the harbour, and her homeland, came into view through the familiar English fog. It had been four years since she'd seen it last, and it looked exactly the same. The only difference was that there was a little niece waiting for her at the dock as well. And this time, she _knew_ what was ahead of her.

'It's good to be home again,' Lord Ascot said with a smile, as he came to stand beside her. She smiled and nodded her agreement, inwardly thinking that she was not 'home' quite yet. 'Are you sure you won't consider staying on with the company, my dear?' he asked a few minutes later. 'You've done a great deal for it; and the people over there like and admire you.'

'I'm sorry, Lord Ascot,' Alice said kindly but firmly, 'but I made a promise a few years ago that I need to keep. There are people waiting for me, and I can't let them down.'

'I see,' he sighed. 'These people…they don't live in England, do they?'

She hesitated, before replying honestly, 'No.'

'Well…' he seemed to be searching for something to say. 'If you are going to leave us, Alice, you should know that I'll make sure your family is well looked after. You made quite a bit of money for the company, and I'll see to it that your mother and sister get their fair share of it.'

'Thank you, Lord Ascot,' Alice beamed up at him. If it were not for the strict rules of Victorian society, she would have given him a hug there and then. Of course, she didn't conform to all the rules of society. In four years, she had not once worn a corset or stockings.

It wasn't long before the _Wonder _had docked, and the gangplank was being lowered. One of the crewmembers took her luggage for her, while Alice descended the plank by herself, having kindly refused help. As soon as her feet touched on dry land, her sister rushed forward, enveloping her in a big hug and exclaiming about how long it had been, and how well she looked. Her mother joined in, while Lowell stood off to the side, bored. Lord Ascot shook Alice's hand before he left and said a fond farewell, wishing her a happy future. Her mother wondered about that when he'd left with his wife and son – both of which had studiously ignored Alice – as they were due to attend a garden party at Ascot Manor that very week. Alice shrugged it off, and distracted them by asking about the new baby.

Margaret immediately showed Alice her little Rowena Helen, and proudly brought her up to date on the ten month old darling. That subject occupied them for the rest of the carriage journey home. Rowena had curly blonde hair like her mother and her aunt, and brown eyes like her father. She laughed and smiled for most of the journey home, and it was clear to see how Helen and Margaret adored her.

'She really is a darling,' Helen said fondly, as the carriage drew up outside the house.

'She looks like you, Alice,' Margaret said genuinely. 'Let's hope she does as well for herself as you did.'

Alice looked at her sister in surprise. She'd always assumed that her sister would have preferred her to stay in London and marry well. She knew her mother did.

'Alice, dinner is at seven, you can go freshen up and rest before, if you'd like,' her mother said briskly as they entered the house.

'Thanks, Mother,' she smiled, and after bidding farewell to Margaret, Lowell and Rowena – who would return for dinner – carried her suitcases up the stairs, and collapsed with relief into her old desk chair.

Her room was unchanged, apart from fresh vases of flowers set on the tables, but she didn't notice any of this, as she got out her writing materials and began to scribble quickly. Fifteen minutes later, she sat back and surveyed her work with satisfaction. Three letters and one will. She carefully folded them up and put them in envelopes, neatly addressing them. The letters were to Helen Kingsley, Margaret Manchester and Rowena Helen Manchester. The will repeated what Lord Ascot had promised; her share of the company, and the money she'd earned would go to her mother, her sister, and any children her sister had. The letters to her mother and sister said that although she loved them, she had promises to keep and things she was late for doing. There was someone waiting for her, in a place as wonderfully mad as herself. She promised them that she would be happy. How could one not be happy in Underland? Even the time she'd spent there while the Red Queen reigned had been some of the happiest moments of her life, and she'd thought, the most impossible to forget.

But she had forgotten. For six months afterwards, the memories of Underland had been completely wiped from her mind. Then she had seen Absolem on the ship, and after that, gradually, everything had started to come back. The painful memories had been slowest. For months she had puzzled over how she had returned – for Absolem, although he helped a little, said it was _her_ responsibility to discover her own memories. Until one night, two years after she had left Underland, she had woken from a dream in tears, sobbing at the expression on the Hatter's face as he had told her she wouldn't remember him. And she hadn't, at the start. After that one dream, all the memories came back, and the jigsaw puzzle of her mind was complete. And they had been in all her dreams since then. Which was precisely why she was returning now, to Underland.

Closing her eyes, Alice leaned back in her chair, and finally allowed herself to think of the Hatter. Her dearest friend, in any world, the one who understood her best. Ever since she had properly remembered, she'd missed him furiously, and had written him numerous letters, which she had kept in a box below her bed. Now they were one of the few things she would take with her to Underland, for she felt he deserved to read them even if – her heart constricted painfully at the thought – he didn't feel the same way.

As soon as that first memory of her leaving the Hatter – Tarrant Hightopp – had broken through, she'd spent about a week puzzling over _why_ she'd left. And when she knew, she set to completing those things she had to do, and questions she had to answer. Two years later, she had finally done it, and that thought made her grin wider than the Cheshire Cat. Then Alice caught sight of the Time on her gold pocket-watch she'd acquired on her travels, and immediately hurried to get ready for dinner, pushing all thought of Underland to the back of her mind for the time being.

She allowed herself a small smile as she thought of the letter she'd written to her niece. In it, she'd expressed how much she wished she could have watched her grow up, and have memories of her aunt, but she had to go to a magical, mad place called Wonderland. She urged her young niece to find adventure and freedom out of the repressing Victorian society, and not to play heed to what her superiors declared that she _'must'_ wear. Alice also added that in her opinion, a corset was about as necessary as a codfish on one's head, and warned her to look out for a White Rabbit with a waistcoat and a watch. Finally she included a story for Rowena to read; a story describing all her adventures in Wonderland and the wonderfully mad people and creatures she'd met there. She hoped Margaret or Helen would read it to Rowena as a child, and then when she was older she could read it herself. Perhaps one day, she'd even fall down the rabbit hole at Ascot Manor herself.

The dinner went well, and Alice fought her hardest not to be distracted, and to contribute fully during it. It was her last dinner with her family; she owed them that much.

But as tea was being served, the dreaded interrogation came. 'So, Alice,' her mother began. 'Did you meet any nice gentlemen on your travels?'

'Of course, Mother,' Alice replied, staring into her teacup and wishing there were scones and sugar cubes flying in the air. 'Many fine gentlemen work for the company, and there are plenty of agreeable ones in China.'

'Oh, Alice, that's wonderful!' her mother gushed excitedly. 'Are any of them likely to be visiting us anytime soon?'

'I shouldn't think so, although Lord Ascot might invite some of them to the garden party.'

'Even better; then Margaret and I can have a look at them and decide if they're good enough,' Helen Kingsley beamed.

'Mother,' Alice said firmly, 'I can assure you that no one I am the slightest bit interested in marrying will be at that garden party.'

'Where will they be then?' Margaret asked curiously, as her mother looked disappointed.

_Damn._ Alice opened her mouth to deny there being anyone, but then she thought to herself, it wouldn't matter so much if they knew, would it? And she'd already hinted so much in her letters, anyway. 'Far, far away,' she said instead. 'Not in London, or anywhere else in England.'

'That's a pity dear, but at least you've found someone!' Helen said, eagerly squeezing her hand. 'It's a relief; we were starting to worry…'

'Worry what?'

'That you might be…' her mother exchanged a look with Margaret, before leaning forward and whispering in a scandalized air; '…a _degenerate._' **[A/N at end]**

Alice choked with surprise on her tea. The thought had never occurred to her, and she couldn't help feeling a little indignant that her family thought that _must_ be the only explanation for her not being married by the age of three and twenty. Swallowing her sudden laughter, she said stiffly, 'That is certainly _not_ the case, Mother, Margaret. Did it never occur to you that I was just looking for someone as mad as myself that I could love?'

'Of course it did, Alice!' her sister cried. 'We never seriously thought that you might be…that. It was just a stray thought. And we're so glad you've found someone to love, honestly. Perhaps you could introduce us, soon?'

'I'd love to,' Alice smiled, but sadness glinted in her eyes. _Yes, I'd love to, but I can't._

The rest of the evening passed away merrily, and happily. As good a farewell dinner as any, though only one present knew it as that. When the clock struck eleven, their mother rose from her chair, declaring that she needed a good night's sleep.

'Goodnight, Mother,' Alice said fondly, hugging her tightly, and giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. 'Fairfarren.' If her mother was surprised, she didn't show it. Forty-seven years of conforming to society's laws had taught her that. She only hugged her daughter back gladly, and smiling at them both, went up to bed.

Margaret followed soon after, and with a heavy heart Alice bade goodbye to both her and her little daughter. Lowell seemed eager to go; he'd spent most of the evening smoking cigars and reading in the other room, having no desire to talk to Alice, or her mother. He had a suspicion that Alice's mother also knew of his lies and lecherous deeds. Alice fought to hold back tears at the thought that this would be, in all probability, the last time she would see her sister. Lowell's impatient sighs did nothing to make her hurry her farewell, and when they'd gone, she immediately made her way to bed, where she allowed a few tears to fall before falling soundly asleep.

'_Alice!'_ the whispered hiss broke into her peaceful slumber, and roused her quickly.

'What?' she mumbled, propping herself up on her elbows. Then she saw the blue shape fluttering before her. 'Oh, Absolem! I'm so sorry, am I late?'

'What happened to staying awake?' he growled irritable as still fully dressed, she stood up from the bed.

'I'm sorry; I was just so worn out after all the farewells, and the travelling too. I only meant to have a quick nap…what time is it?'

'Twenty past two. Hurry up, and be quiet; everyone is asleep, I already checked.'

'Thank you, Absolem. What would I do without you?'

'Nothing, stupid girl. Do you have your letters?'

'Yes.' Alice put her letters to Hatter, and the rest of Underland, in her pocket, along with her watch, her mother's necklace, and a photo of her family all together – before her father's death. She laid out her letters to her family on the dressing table, and she was ready to go.

'Come on then!'

Then carefully, quietly, they made their way down the heavily carpeted stairs, and the grand, empty hall. Absolem opened the door easily, and they slipped out into the darkness of the grounds unseen.

It was a half-hour walk to Ascot Manor, but Absolem kept Alice entertained with tales of what had happened in Underland since her departure. Four years had also passed there, and he assured her that they were all missing her, and looking forward to her return.

'As much as I miss them?' Alice couldn't help asking.

He had replied solemnly; 'Perhaps even more.'

Finally, they were at the rabbit hole. It looked the same as it had four years ago. Alice took a last look around at her homeland. But not her home.

'I'll be waiting at the bottom,' Absolem said gravely, and vanished.

The young woman took a deep breath. She'd made her decision. There was no going back now. Even as she'd drank the Jabberwocky blood, she'd known deep inside she'd be back. No matter what Hatter had thought. 'Fairfarren, England,' she whispered, and jumped.

She didn't scream as she fell; on the contrary, she laughed aloud, and looked around her with interest, as she'd been too scared the last two times to do so. Shelves lined the hole, filled with all sorts of odd, random objects. Then she felt the hole widening up, and she knew she would hit the bed soon. _At long last._ But before she did, she suddenly saw a photograph falling with her, and impulsively reached out to grab it, lunging forward and missing the bed as she did so.

_Oh well,_ she thought to herself. _It doesn't matter; it's only a bed._

As she continued to fall down, down, little did she know how wrong she was, and how important a certain Bed actually was.

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Absolem waited impatiently at the bottom. Time passed, and finally he entered the Room of Doors himself, but saw no Alice, conscious or otherwise, there. Grumbling to himself, he unrolled the Oraculum, and what he saw there filled even the wise, absolute Absolem with fear and dread.

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**A/N: Hope you all enjoyed it so far! Next chapter should be up soon. I just wanted to say I have nothing whatsoever against gays or lesbians but unfortunately Victorian society did, and they were often called 'degenerates'. I don't mean to cause offence to anyone at all, but it is a sad fact of the Victorian era, and I thought that it would probably be a worry of all Victorian mothers. Poor Oscar Wilde was even exiled because of it :(**

**-Salsaxxx**


	2. Curiouser and Curiouser

**Hey, thanks to those who've faved and alerted this story so far :) Im really grateful to yous. Guess who's in this chapter! ;)**

**Please review&tell me what you think! :) Feel free to let me know if you have any constructive or otherwise criticism as well :)**

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything at all...**

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Chapter 2 – Curiouser and Curiouser 

Alice cried out in pain as she crashed through the ceiling this time, and landed roughly on the floor. 'That's odd,' she said aloud to herself. 'It's never hurt before.' She lay still for a moment, then picked herself up, brushing off the dirt. The room was…different, from before. It was darker, and all the doors were the same; a heavy, black ebony. She cautiously tried the handle to one, and to her surprise, it creaked open.

'Curiouser and curiouser,' she murmured to herself as she stepped outside, into a dark, barren wasteland. She could tell it had once been a garden, but now weeds and thorn bushes flourished instead. For a fleeting moment, Alice wondered if it was the garden she usually came into when she entered Underland, but she quickly dismissed that thought. This was definitely not the garden. No steps led down to it, and the few remaining flowers did not have human faces on them. It had obviously been like this for a very long time. It was empty, desolate, and utterly unwelcoming.

Nevertheless, Alice made her way forward, keeping a tight hold on her muchness. Now would not be a good time to lose it. She checked her watch, and saw that it was changing frantically. No help there. Looking around, Alice realised that it was already well into the day here; as opposed to London, where the dawn had still been a few hours off. It didn't surprise her though. This was Underland – wasn't it?

Suddenly, fear swept over her and she hastily checked her pocket; her letters and keepsakes were thankfully still in there. As was the photograph she'd snatched out of the air. She didn't know what had possessed her to grab it. But before she could really look at it, a sudden rustling in the bushes distracted her, and she stuffed it in her pocket.

'Absolem?' she called bravely. When no one answered, she called again, louder, 'Who's there?'

'Only a poor old woman,' came a weak, quavering voice. 'Minding her own business.'

'Oh,' Alice sighed in relief. She didn't know _what_ she had been expecting in this strange part of Underland. 'Could you please tell me where I am?'

'Who's asking?' the voice demanded, sounding harsher.

Something inside her made her refrain from telling the old woman her name. 'Just a lost girl,' Alice said instead.

'Better have a good look at you,' the voice muttered, no longer sounding like just a poor old woman. Alice watched curiously as a small, hunched figure in a worn black cloak appeared from around the bushes. She shuffled forward; bending over from the weight of the lumpy package tied to her back, and then raised her head slightly, tossing her cloak back as she did so. The young woman suppressed a horrified gasp at the sight of that wizened, wrinkled, puckered face. One eye socket gaped black and empty, and only a few yellow, broken teeth could be seen. Her hands were red and blistered, and the nails were black and clawed. Her hair was grey and stringy, and bald patches dotted her head. She was barefoot, and leaned heavily on her old wooden staff.

'My, but you're a pretty one, aren't you,' the old woman crooned, reaching out a gnarled hand to Alice's pretty locks.

She took an uncertain step back. 'Th-thank you, but could you please tell me where in Underland I am?'

_'Underland?_' the old hag began to emit a harsh, barking cough, which Alice realised with surprise was actually a laugh.

'What's so funny?' she asked cautiously.

The old woman looked at Alice with her one remaining bloodshot eye and Alice thought for a second that she saw a glimpse of pity, or sympathy perhaps, in her one eye. 'You're not in Underland, dearie.'

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Absolem did not envy his task.

He scowled to himself as he flew with the Oraculum through the Tulgey Woods. Really; this Keeper of the Oraculum job was tiresome sometimes. Especially when it meant being the bringer of bad news. Especially when the bad news had to be broken to a trio of unpredictable, mad tea-addicts. And especially, especially, when it was about a certain Champion.

As he flew into the clearing, he was greeted by welcoming cries and shouts. A teacup whizzed past him, and a sugar cube followed a second later. The butterfly exchanged a nod with Chessur, and landed gracefully on the chair next to him, at a distance from the March Hare and his teacups, and the Mad Hatter and his unpredictable rages.

'Is Alice here?' the Hatter interrupted his friends' offers of tea, leaning forward eagerly. His clothes had brightened and the dark circles under his eyes had faded at the thought.

'No, Tarrant,' the butterfly replied, inwardly rolling his eyes; if she was here, wouldn't she have her arms around the Hatter by now?

'Oh.' The Hatter slumped back into his wingback chair, and lowered the brim of his hat so that it covered his eyes.

'When _will _she be here?' Mallymkun asked, darting a worried look at the Hatter. 'You did say she was coming.'

'I'm afraid I have some bad news about that,' Absolem said in a businesslike manner. Mally and Chessur looked concerned, though the latter attempted to hide it. Thackery was busy examining a spoon, and Tarrant remained motionless. _Oh dear._ 'You see Alice… didn't go down Underland's rabbit hole.' _Stupid girl._

'She didn't remember,' Tarrant said quietly.

'No, she does,' Absolem said crisply, privately wishing that Mirana had been the one foretold to tell them; but no, it had to be him.

'Then…she doesn't want to return to Underland,' the Hatter said even more quietly.

'She does.'

Everyone looked confused, and the Mally finally snapped; 'What is it then, Absolem? Out with it.'

He fixed the Dormouse with a steady glare, which she returned unflinchingly. 'Alice fell down the rabbit hole in Upperland, but not in Underland,' he said calmly. As expected, there was a chorus of 'What do you means', 'Whys', 'Hows' and 'Spoons'. He waited impassively for the clamour to descend.

Then Mally piped up, 'Where is she now?' Ah. At last a question he could answer.

'She's neither here nor in Upperland. I cannot say for sure, but there is only one other place she could possibly be…Otherland.'

Their reactions were immediate. Chessur looked up with alarm, blanched, and accidentally dropped his teaspoon in his tea, causing it to splash over himself, but he didn't seem to notice. Thackery let out a strangled gasp and scrambled under his chair, shuddering violently while clutching his beloved spoons. Mally pressed her paws to her mouth in horror, and dived into her teapot, coming out a second later with her hatpin. As for Tarrant, his head jerked up with a startled gasp, and all the colour drained from his face and clothes. His eyes hurtled through a series of different colours, changing violently, and he gripped the arms of his chair so hard that the cracking of wood could be heard. Then his eyes glowed a hard orange, brimming with fury, and the circles under his eyes turned black. He rose from his chair and began to yell curses in Outlandish, eyes fixed on Absolem. The butterfly bore this calmly; it was what he'd expected, and he thought it better for Tarrant to get it out of his system. At last, when he showed no sign of stopping, Mally recovered herself enough to yell 'Hatta!' sternly. He froze in mid-rant, and then sunk back into his chair, eyes a light green, verging on blue.

Absolem suppressed a sigh. He usually didn't care enough to take notice of people, but in this case it was clear to see that the Mad Hatter was missing Alice deeply, and it would have been better for all concerned if she could have returned to Underland without delay. But of course, knowing Alice, there would be a delay. That silly girl was too curious for her own good.

'Are you quite sure?' Chessur finally asked.

'As I said before, no, but I do not see where else she could be,' the butterfly said gravely. 'I watched her fall down the rabbit hole in Upperland myself. And I have waited, and looked, inside the Room of Doors. Also –'

'Check the Oraculum!' the Hare exclaimed suddenly, jumping onto the table, but looking and sounding saner than he had in a while.

'Yes, do that!' Mally cried in agreement.

'She has to be in there somewhere! ...Cup.' And the rare, sane moment was ruined.

Absolem fixed them both with a stern glare, inwardly feeling that it had been easier to do so as a caterpillar. 'As I was about to say, I have tried, but have you both forgotten that the Oraculum tells of each and every day _in Underland_ since the beginning. It cannot show us what will happen in Otherland.' The Hare and the Dormouse looked down, embarrassed by their forgetfulness.

'Did you find anything useful in the Oraculum?' Tarrant asked, some hope creeping into his dejected tone.

'Look.' Absolem spread the Oraculum on the tea table, and everyone leaned closer to see it. on that very day, the Sorofirous Day, the Calendrical Compendium of Underland showed Alice falling down the rabbit hole, but as they watch, she reached forward to grab something – and vanished. Then the picture repeated itself, and then again, and again. The next Day showed everyone present talking to the White Queen, in her throne room at Marmoreal. There was a box of potions open behind her, they noticed. 'See,' Absolem continued. 'Alice began falling down the hole, but she tried to take hold of his thing, and it must have unbalanced her, and made her miss the bed, and so the right Way. At that particular rabbit hole, there are only two Ways one can go – to Underland, or to Otherland. There is no other option but that she is in Otherland.'

'We can't leave her down there alone,' the Cheshire Cat said decisively. He ignored the surprised looks of those surrounding him. 'I will go to bring her back myself, if need be.'

'As will I, as soon as possible,' Tarrant declared, looking a little put out that Chessur had got there first.

'If you're going, I am too,' Mally said fiercely, waving her deadly hatpin.

'Wha'?' Thackery wailed. 'Yeh not leaving me 'ere alone! Ah'm comin'!'

'Good,' Absolem said briskly. 'But before we set off, we must tell Mirana. She is as yet unaware of the danger our Champion is in.'

'Let us leave at once; there is no time to waste if Alice is in danger!' Tarrant cried, rising from his chair.

'Wait!' Mally cried suddenly, and everyone turned to look at her, while she stared at Absolem. 'Have you tried looking into Alice's future alone?'

Absolem bristled. Did they think him stupid? 'Of course I have!' he snapped irritably. He began to mutter the words needed to change the Oraculum from telling the future of all Underland, to the future of one individual in Underland. As Keeper of the Oraculum, he alone had the power to do so. The Oraculum rolled up as he spoke, and when he stopped and commanded it to open, instead of showing the most important event of each day in the whole of Underland, it showed the most important event of each day in the Champion's life-in Underland.

The other members of the Tea Party looked at it eagerly, but they were disappointed. At that very day, Alice could be seen falling down the rabbit hole, but the days before and after were blank. Absolem quickly rolled up the Oraculum a bit, so that the future was hidden; knowing the future had the power to change the outcome, and he did not encourage meddling with it. The Frabjous Day had been an exception; it was necessary to show it to the people to raise their spirits. Mally pouted, but no one openly objected. After all, didn't he, Absolem, always know better?

'Right, now that's cleared up, let's go,' he said briskly, commanding the Oraculum to roll up. He placed it in his bag and flew away from the dilapidated Tea Party. He knew they all wondered how he carried it about, being so small and apparently weak, and he had no intention whatsoever of telling them. He smiled to himself as he heard them following hastily behind him, and continued on the way to Marmoreal.

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**...except Otherland ;)**

**xxx**


	3. The Bad Kind of Madness

**Hey, as you can see, in this chapter I switched Alice over to first person; it just felt right, writing her like that :P I was wondering, do you guys prefer her in first or third person? Let me know, please :) enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Alice in Wonderland; only my OCs & Otherland :)**

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Chapter 3 - The Bad Kind of Madness 

_Alice_

'W-What?' I asked faintly, staring wide-eyed at the old woman. It wasn't true – she was lying! I had to be in Underland. I fell down the rabbit hole, didn't I?

'You're not in Underland,' the old woman repeated slowly, emphasizing each word and rolling her one eye, all traces of sympathy now gone.

'But – I fell down the rabbit hole!' I felt myself start to babble as panic overtook me, something I rarely did. 'I have to be! I went down the same rabbit hole as before. People are waiting for me here; I have to find them. I have promises to keep. Absolem should be here somewhere - '

'You won't find that insufferable know-it-all down here,' the old woman sneered. 'He's far too good for the likes of this place. Or so he likes to tell himself. There's a bit of Badness in everyone…'

'Badness?' I asked curiously, trying to ignore that this strange, frightening person was talking badly about _my _friend. She could very well be the only help I'd get.

'Aye,' the old crone nodded. 'Those in Underland call it the bad kind of Madness. They're too blinded with their search for 'goodness'. Someday they'll realise they're wrong, and it's _our_ kind of Madness that's right.'

I took another step away from this crazy, leering old woman. As she said, it was a _bad_ crazy. 'Would you be so kind as to tell me _where_ I am then, if not in Underland?' I asked her politely, and regretted my words instantly. There was not an ounce of genuine kindness in that old crone. _Hag,_ I suddenly thought. She was a Hag; like the ones in my storybooks when I was younger. She even had a wooden staff. I struggled to remember the rules from one particular fairytale_. 1. Never treat one like a poor old woman. _Damn, I'd already done that. My book had described them as 'infinitely more devious, cunning and strong than they look.' 2_. Never let them take the hand of a child._ Luckily, no children were in sight. And I hoped to God none existed in this barren place.

'I'm not kind enough, but I'll tell you anyway,' the Hag shrugged, eyeing me greedily. I took another quick step back. 'You're in Otherland.'

'Otherland?'

'Yes, Otherland!' she snapped. 'There's Upperland and Underland; so of course there needs to be an Otherland.' She took out a pipe, lit it, and looked at me thoughtfully. 'You're not the first to fall down here, you know.'

'Really? Who else?' I asked curiously.

'I don't know,' the crone said dismissively, dragging on her pipe. I coughed, and waved away the foul smoke. Unlike Absolem's blue smoke, it _didn't_ smell good. 'They disappeared quite quickly. The King made sure of that.' A wide grin spread over her cruel face, and she laughed cruelly again. 'Poor unfortunate souls.'

'Is there any way to get back – to Underland or Upperland?' I asked, struggling to ignore her last statement. I was beginning to dislike this Hag more and more.

'You should ask the King, not me,' the Hag snapped irritably. 'He'll know.'

'Um…ok.' Not likely. I fought to keep my fear under control as I backed away. 'I'd best be on my way.'

'Wait,' the Hag said suddenly, and I turned around unwillingly. When she next spoke, her voice was dripping with sugary sweetness. 'Why don't you come home with me, to my humble abode? Perhaps I will have something to help you get home there…and if not, you'll be needing a place to stay, while you're here.'

Alarm bells rang. _3. Never agree to go back to their home__ with them._

'No, I'll be fine,' I smiled tight-lipped, but my heart was beating wildly as a result of the panic and fear coursing through my veins. 'Thank you for your help and Fairfarren.' I almost ran through the overgrown, blackened garden, in my desperation to get away from the Hag. _What have I landed myself in?_

I kept going past the faceless, thorny plants, until at last I reached the periphery of the garden, and with a last glance around, I entered the forbidding woods. Some instinct was telling me to keep hidden and out of sight. But apart from that, I had no idea what I was doing or where I was going. All I knew was that I was not going to end up like those other 'poor unfortunate souls.' My muchness was still intact, no matter how long I'd been in Upperland, and I was Underland's Champion. I was going to find a way out of this Hell.

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'_Hatter!'_

'I-I'm fine.' But the Hatter wasn't fine. He hadn't been fine for a very long time; at least four years, and he suspected, many more before that. But of course, Time being the tricky devil it was, no one knew. But he'd been a different kind of not-fine ever since the Frabjous Day; ever since that damned Jabberwocky blood. His only refuge had been to lose himself further in the Madness; which meant that he had to isolate himself from everyone else for fear of causing them harm. But certain people had stuck by him stubbornly and unflinchingly all the way, no matter how much he warned them. Mally, Thackery, Mirana, and surprisingly, Chessur.

But although he was deeply grateful to his friends, and very fond of them, they couldn't fill the hole in his heart, nor keep the pain away for very long. It always returned, sometimes in his dreams, sometimes in the middle of a Tea Party. And he was powerless to stop it.

As he and his friends made their way to Marmoreal and the White Queen, he wondered if the pain would go away, or just increase ten-fold when he saw…_her._ If she didn't remember him, he knew he wouldn't be able to bear it. Hopefully, he would be able to hold it off until they returned to Underland and then he could take refuge in his room in Thackery's windmill, for he doubted that they would become friends again if her first impression of him was a screaming, crying madman.

'_Hatter!'_ Mallymkun cried again, seeing his eyes burning orange.

'Thank you,' he replied, smiling up at her as she poked her face over the brim of his hat and looked down at him worriedly. 'Don't worry, Mally. I'm fine.'

'No you're not,' she snapped. 'If that stupid girl wasn't already in big danger I'd stick her, I would!'

'Mally,' he reprimanded gently, feeling his heart squeeze with pain. He closed his eyes tightly for a moment, trying to clear his head. 'Please.'

'Oh Hatta…'she whispered, and he wondered if that was a glimmer of a tear he saw in her eye. 'What has she _done_ to you?'

'It's not her fault,' he said firmly. 'She had a good reason for leaving; it was silly of me to get my hopes up at all, and silly of me to get so…attached, to her. Alices always leave in the end; everyone knows that.'

'Perhaps, but she didn't have a good reason for breaking your heart,' the Dormouse said sadly.

'She didn't know,' was all the Hatter could whisper in her defence. Mally slipped down from the Hat, landed on his shoulder and hugged his neck in one of her rare displays of affection. He gave her a sad smile, and continued to walk forward; hating the small part of himself that wished it was Alice instead of dear, loyal Mally beside him.

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**Please review! :)**

**xxx**


	4. To be a Queen

**Disclaimer: dont own anything, except OCs & Otherland :)**

**Ok here yas go, enjoy! :) Reviews give me inspiration, so if you're reading this, & u haven't left a review already, please do it'll make the next chapter come faster! :) Ok while I was writing Mirana here, I was thinking of what Anne Hathaway said about her not being completely 'vanilla' so thats how Im going to write her :)**

**Thanks to Naomily4EVA for helping me with this chapter! :)**

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Chapter 4 – To Be a Queen

The White Queen looked out over her balcony anxiously, as a group of her dearest friends approached. Judging from their pace, it was not a social visit, and she sighed as she checked the spyglass one more time, before sweeping gracefully back into her castle.

Dusk was falling, but the White Castle still glowed brightly as she made her way down to the entrance hall. Her everyday duties were done, and she had been having a peaceful time alone with her Thoughts on the balcony. Of course her friends and subjects would always come first, but sometimes she wished being a Queen would allow her to have more time to herself.

Two of her servants rushed forward to open the great entrance doors for her, and after bestowing a grateful smile on them both, she hurried into the courtyard and down the steps. Absolem met her there, and the look in his eyes seized her with fear.

'We have a problem, Mirana,' he said gravely.

She swallowed hard and took a deep breath. 'Tell me please, Absolem. Is it Iracebeth? Or Stayne?'

'No.'

'What is it then?'

'We should talk in the throne room,' Chessur said, appearing suddenly next to them. The Queen felt another flutter of fear. Anything that could alarm the Cheshire Cat was bad. She nodded, and gracefully led the way back into the castle.

* * *

'_Otherland?'_

'Unfortunately.'

Mirana sat, stunned and bewildered, on her throne. Her friends noted with worry that she was even paler than usual.

'How? Why? _When?'_

'She's too curious for her own good. The Oraculum shows her reaching out for something, which interrupted the natural fall and made her miss the Bed,' Absolem said matter-of-factly. 'I highly doubt it was planned; just pure misfortune. And it happened very early this morning in Upperland and around midday in Underland.'

The White Queen rose from her chair and began to pace restlessly back and forth, murmuring 'Oh dear' repeatedly.

'My Queen, are you quite all right?' the Hatter asked in concern.

'I'm fine, thank you Tarrant.' She forced a smile past her lips, and stopped. 'It's just that place...' She shuddered.

'We know,' Mallymkun said sympathetically. 'We all feel the same about that cursed world... Is it true, your Majesty that it used to be a part of Underland?'

'Unfortunately,' she sighed, while everyone looked up with interest. The Queen continued the story, as she gazed sorrowfully past her friends.'It used to be just another region near the Outlands, but over time the people there became more and more corrupt and evil, and at last they completely embraced the bad kind of Madness that is now planted in each of their heads. They terrorized the rest of Underland, and did all sorts of terrible things. In the end, they completely overstepped the line when they invited Death and his shadowy minions to live amongst them, which he gladly did, considering he had been kept mainly out of Underland until then, due to his deal with Time, and the first Kings. But anyway, that was the last straw for my great-great-grandfather, King Aberius. He decreed every one of them banished from Underland, and using a very powerful, still unknown spell, he broke the bonds that secured that terrible land to Underland, and cast them all out. He was very famous, and loved by the people for that. Death went with them as well, and is still a frequent visitor in what we now call Otherland.'

'And now we have to go down there,' Nivens McTwisp said glumly. Mirana had called him in shortly after the others had arrived, and he now looked like he was about to faint.

'Do you intend to come as well, McTwisp?' Chessur asked, surprised.

'I assumed that was why I was summoned here,' he replied, nose twitching nervously.

'No, McTwisp,' Mirana said decisively, suddenly snapping out of her shock. 'I would prefer it if you stayed. I need you at the castle.' She paused. 'That is, if it is fine with you?'

'Oh yes, yes,' he nodded fervently. 'I would much prefer to stay, your Majesty. Of course I want to help Alice, our Champion, but I do not think I would be much help in Otherland. Upperland is enough for me.'

'Good, then that's settled. The rest of you shall leave tomorrow.'

'Tomorrow?' Tarrant protested, stepping forward. 'She could be captured or injured by then, or worse d –' He stopped, unable to finish the rest of the sentence, and his eyes flickered to orange at the thought. Mally hastily pricked him with her hatpin, before jumping up onto a table.

'Your Majesty, I don't know if that's wise,' she said, looking concerned. 'Hatter's right; it's terribly dangerous there.'

'Precisely,' Mirana said shortly, feeling slightly irritated. Did they think she had not thought this through? Did they think she did not care about Alice as much as they did? 'It's terribly dangerous there. But if Otherland is dangerous during the day, it is ten times more dangerous at night. Otherland and Underland share the same Time, therefore Night has fallen there as well. I know you are eager to rescue Alice, and believe me, I would like her back in Underland as much as anyone, but I do not wish to lose my friends. As your Queen, I cannot in good conscience send you to a far away, distant land at a time when you are most likely to be killed. Also, you would be of no use to Alice, dead or captured.' Mallymkun opened her mouth to protest again, but the Queen firmly cut her off. 'No. It's final. There are rooms prepared; you are all welcome to stay here tonight. Goodnight.' She swept out of the throne room, leaving everyone staring after her.

* * *

A while later, Absolem found her on a familiar looking balcony.

'That was a wise decision, Mirana,' he stated, landing beside her hand on the marble railing.

'Thank you, Absolem. But I'm afraid you are the only one who thinks so.'

'Your friends see the wisdom of it now. They know that you only have their best interests at heart. You should not be so hard on yourself, Mirana.'

She sighed. 'Please, look after them, Absolem. I would not want to see anyone harmed.'

'I will do all in my power to. But do not blame yourself if things go wrong.'

'Do you think they will?'

'I do not know.' They stood in silence for a while longer, both consumed with thoughts of things that could go horribly, uncontrollably wrong. At last Absolem broke the heavy silence. 'I have decided to leave the Oraculum here in Underland, with you and McTwisp.'

Mirana looked at him in surprise. 'You have?'

'I think you are in more need of it than myself,' he said solemnly. 'I know that some sort of trouble is brewing in Underland; and with your best bodyguards gone, you will need every protection possible.'

'Thank you, Absolem,' Mirana said, recovering enough from her surprise to smile warmly at him. 'I promise I won't let any harm come to it; I shall protect it with my life if need be.'

'No!' he cried abruptly. She looked at him questioningly. 'Don't guard it with your life. Take very good care of it, but _do not_ give yourself up for it. The Queen's life is more important; do not put the future of your people and your kingdom in jeopardy because of it.'

'Of course, Absolem,' Mirana replied, a little surprised by his sudden urgency. 'If you'll excuse me, it's getting late, and we both have a long day tomorrow. I shall arrange for you, and the others to meet me in the Throne Room after breakfast. Goodnight, and thank you once again for trusting me with the Oraculum.'

He continued to smoke his hookah, and gaze out pensively over Underland. She felt a slight irritation rising up inside her, caused by his rudeness, but almost immediately repressed it. Instead she hesitated a moment longer before gathering herself and lightly heading back into the castle. His voice stopped her in her tracks however.

'Mirana, remember – you are the Queen first and foremost. You must always put your duties before your friends.'

With her head turned away from him, he did not see the lone, solitary tear that slid down her ethereally beautiful face, only the quietly spoken reply. 'I know, Absolem.' Then the White Queen held her head high, and continued on her way, failing to see the pain in the butterfly's eyes that came from having to give her such a cold message; pain only revealed for a second before his stony, expressionless gaze resumed, and he flew away into the night.

* * *

_Alice_

The forest was pitch black, and deathly silent as I moved noiselessly through it. Nothing stirred; not even a breeze. The silence was unnerving, as were the dark, imposing trees that rose up around me. Every time a twig snapped beneath my feet, I froze, and held my breath. But nothing had come for me. Not yet anyway.

Suddenly I found myself at the edge of a large clearing. The moonlight cast an eerie glow over it, and reflected off the pool in the centre. I ventured forward cautiously, drawn by the cool, fresh water. I was desperately thirsty, as I'd been on the move for most of the day. But almost immediately I retreated, as something else stepped forward.

I watched from behind a large spiky bush as a great black shape separated from the shadows and began to drink greedily from the pool. It stood over seven feet tall, and great pointed antlers rose up from its head. Sixteen razor sharp tines that could easily pierce and impale flesh. At that moment, the bush I was hiding behind rustled, betraying me. It raised its terrible head and locked eyes with me. A chill ran through my entire body, as I stared back at that _monster_. I would have called it a deer, but no deer I'd ever seen or heard of had vivid, glowing, red eyes. Red eyes that betrayed a human-like intelligence, and a chilling, terrifying anger. It was a creature of darkness, of nightmares.

_And he could see me._

We stared at each other for a few more moments, and he bared his teeth to reveal white pointed canines, made for tearing and ripping at meat.

_A carnivorous, angry, giant deer. _

The black brute snarled, and took a step forward, towards my bush.

_Where's your muchness, Alice? What would the Hatter say if he saw you?_

_Run!_

Quickly I shook off my paralyzing fear and was about to turn and run for my life, when all of a sudden my adversary stopped advancing towards me and raised its head, sniffing the air. I watched with bated breath. It tasted the air again, and then shuddered slightly, while fear swept across its malevolent face. It snarled at me again, but uncertainty flickered in its red eyes. Then the nightmarish creature of the shadows spread huge, black feathery wings, and cast a last hungry look at me before taking off and rising powerfully into the skies. I stared after it, astonished. Definitely not a deer then.

Relief filled me for an instant, before fear rushed in a second later, as I realised someone, or something, had scared it off.

_What could possibly harm a giant, flying, carnivorous black deer?_

Then a foul, rotting smell hit me, and I hastily covered my mouth and nose. I didn't intend to wait around to find out. As I ran as fast and as quietly as I could away, I glanced back once to see more black, shadowy shapes descending into the clearing, wings spread. But for once, I was not curious as to what they were. I'd had enough of the supernatural for one day – maybe even a lifetime. As I curled up in an empty, claustrophobic hole I'd found, far from the winged nightmares, I wished with all my heart that I could wake up in Underland with all my friends, and realise that it was nothing but a dream.

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**Review? Pretty please? :) What do you think of the new Otherland creature so far? I promise, there are more to come :P**

**xxx**


	5. Voices

**Really sorry about the delay for this :S I went away on Friday, & meant to get the next chapter up before that, but then writers block hit me... Unfortunately I'm going away for two weeks on Sunday, but I'll try to get as many chapters as I can up between now and then! :) Thank you to all who've faved or alerted or reviewed this! I love reviews ;)**

**Disclaimer: Only own Otherland, and OCs, the rest belongs to Lewis Carroll& Tim Burton.**

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Chapter 5 – Voices 

_Alice _

I woke up, and nearly screamed at the wave of claustrophobia that washed over me. I clamped my eyes tightly shut as I tried to remember where I was. Not in London – why would I be in a rabbit hole in London? Unless... Oh! Maybe I tried falling down the rabbit hole to get to Underland – but hit my head instead. Maybe Underland wasn't real. Maybe –

No, I thought to myself. Underland is real. Absolem and the Bandersnatch scars are proof enough of that. Just to reassure myself, I pushed up my sleeve to look at the three parallel, faint white lines that curved around my upper arm. Instead I frowned at the new layer of bruises that covered my upper arm and shoulder. How did they get there? I gently prodded them, and winced. Now that I thought about it, my entire right side was stiff and sore. Maybe it was a reaction to that dream I'd just had – I'd fallen down a rabbit hole and it had hurt... My half-asleep brain was still trying to work out what was odd about that, when I gently eased myself out of the rabbit hole, and froze at the sight of my surroundings.

_The dream was real. I'd fallen down the rabbit hole – and landed somewhere else entirely. Otherland._

I bit back a sob. Like Absolem said, nothing was ever accomplished with tears. Underland was real, and so was Otherland. The only thing I could do now was deal with it, and get out. So, wrapping my now torn and dirty blue coat around me, I set off through the forest, fighting off the wave of utter hopelessness that threatened.

* * *

Half an hour later, I stopped by a pool to drink. I was ravenous and thirsty by this time. But I had scarcely drank one mouthful when a fierce looking spiny fish leapt out of the water at me and bit my hand. I cried aloud in disgust and shook my hand hastily. It held on stubbornly, until at last I was forced to swing my hand against a tree, to dislodge it. I felt a little pity for the ugly fish as it flopped onto the ground, stunned. Even after the Jabberwocky, I still didn't like killing things. However, that pity vanished a second later when it immediately sprang at me again. The bite marks on my hand were now turning an ugly purple, tinged with green, while blood spurted out. I tore a strip off the bottom of my dress and quickly wrapped it around my hand. It was not the best bandage, but it would do for now. After that, I didn't venture near any streams or rivers. To ignore the pain, I concentrated on my six impossible things.

_One._ I fell down the rabbit hole. _Two._ There's more than one way to fall down a rabbit hole. _Three._ There's a place called Otherland. _Four_. Real, story book Hags existed_. Five._ Then I panicked. Five? What was number five? I had to finish my list! I stopped counting then, and focused on my surroundings instead. My list was getting too depressing anyway.

Tall, dark trees still rose up above me, mostly barren until about 60 ft up, where the dark leaves blocked out the weak sunlight. Gnarled roots stuck out of the ground randomly, eager to trip up passersby, and a layer of thorny, dense undergrowth covered the forest floor. My boots protected me mostly, but the taller shrubs still managed to tear at the bottom of my dress and scratch my legs mercilessly. More than once I thought I saw a pair of eyes staring back at me from the shadows, but when I looked a second time, they were always gone. I felt myself longing for Chessur to appear out of nowhere and show me the way to the Hatter – to home – as he'd done twice before**.**

I wondered what the Hatter, the Hare, the White Queen and the rest of my friends in Underland were doing now. I wondered if they'd known I was coming; if they were worried about me. A small part of me hoped that they would come and rescue me, but another part protested vehemently at the idea of so much good madness entering this horrid place. They didn't belong here; the very idea of the Hatter's bright smile and outlandish, colourful clothes here was even more foreign than the thought of them in London. No; I would have to find my own way out.

Suddenly I heard a rumbling, and the thundering of hooves on the forest past behind me. Instinctively I turned to see what it was, but before I could something tightened around my arm and yanked me out of the way and behind a tree. I struggled furiously and opened my mouth to scream, but then what felt like a branch covered my mouth, stifling my cries. Something – or someone – hissed '_Shh!'_ hastily, and then whispered more gently; 'Be silent, please!' I acquiesced crossly, powerless against the branches and vines now holding me back. I twisted my head, just in time to see the source of the noise burst out of the thickly gathered trees and stop abruptly. My eyes widened as at least a dozen more creatures hurtled from the trees, and halted behind their leader.

I recognized the leader as a Minotaur, a beast of legend and myth. He had the body of a man, the head of a bull and was over eight feet tall. Red eyes blazed as he raised his horned head and roared angrily. The trees – and beasts – around him seemed to shrink back at the sound, including the one holding me back. He wore only a dirty loincloth, and spears and an axe strapped across his back, while he brandished a large sword in his hand. The other beasts were armed similarly. The leader was the only Minotaur with them; but they all radiated the same aura of anger, savageness and danger.

'It's a patrol,' the same Voice as before whispered in my ear. 'Sent out by order of the King.'

'Halt!' the Minotaur roared. 'Who goes there?'

Silence.

'No one,' a Boar growled crossly, breaking the tense silence. 'Only the trees; you stopped us for nothing. _Again.'_

'Quiet!' he snapped, then turned to face a nervous Faun. 'You! You said you saw something.'

'I-I did, sir!' the young Faun said anxiously.

'Where is it then?'

'I d-don't know.'

'You lied!'

By this time the Faun was shaking and edging away from the enraged Minotaur. 'I - I...'

'I saw it too,' another creature stepped forth from the group. A tall, proud Gorgon. She came to stand beside the Faun. 'He does not lie, Rorkorthlin.' Rorkorthlin, the leader, snarled angrily at her, but she stood her ground steadfastly.

'Spread out,' he finally growled. 'Find whoever you saw.' The creatures nodded, and began to fan out through the forest, roughly pushing aside branches and shrubs.

I held my breath as a Boar moved closer, grunting occasionally. But then I heard the Voice murmur something softly, just as the Boar laid his eyes on me. I closed my eyes tight, preparing for the snarl that would bring the rest of the patrol running, but it never came. Instead I tentatively opened my eyes, and saw him sniffing around at the next tree, having passed by me. I stared in amazement at him, but he seemed oblivious to my presence. A panther a few metres away looked in my direction then. His gaze passed over me easily; as if I were naught but a tree. I dared to look down at myself, but I was still there. Confused, I continued to watch the searching patrol.

A good ten minutes later, the Minotaur growled to get everyone's attention, and then began to berate the Gorgon and the Faun angrily, slipping into an incomprehensible language that sounded slightly like Outlandish. He made a move as if to strike the Gorgon, but quick as a flash, she dodged it, while the snakes on her head hissed menacingly at him. At long last, he gave them both a final glare, before turning around and thundering away. The others followed swiftly, and in the space of a few moments, I was alone. Except for a faint sigh that echoed behind me, as the branches that had saved me released me suddenly.

Immediately I whirled around to confront my binder, but no one was there. 'Where are you?' I demanded, scanning the surroundings. 'Show yourself!'

'We already are,' another, different Voice whispered. 'Look closer, Alice of Underland.'

'I'm sorry that was necessary,' the first Voice said gently, almost apologetically. 'But they must not find you.'

'Who's "they"?' I asked curiously. 'And how do you know my name?'

A ripple of murmurs and whispers went through the forest, yet still no one was to be seen. 'Everyone knows of you, Alice, Slayer of the Jabberwocky, Freer of Underland. We of Otherland still hold a connection to Underland; and we know of how the entire Land whispers your name with gratitude, and honours and praises your deeds. She who restored the rightful reign of the White Queen; She who would have sacrificed herself for the good of Underland. News of your fame carried swiftly – even to the Cast-off Land. We are grateful to you, for saving our kind from the vengeful Red Queen.'

'Thank you,' I said, stunned. I had neither expected nor wanted fame for my actions. I had done what was right; that was all. 'But really, it was n-'

'Do not belittle your feats,' a third Voice hissed, contempt manifest in her tone. 'What you did was worthy of great notice, and although your modesty is admirable, it is not needed. Accept your triumphs and revel in them.'

Mutely, I nodded, silenced by the wise, infinite manner in which the Voices spoke.

'We are getting off topic,' the first Voice resumed. 'To answer your question, "they" are those loyal to the King of Otherland. Even if they do not know who you are, you are neither a friend nor an enemy to Otherland as of yet, and so a threat, and unpredictable to have on the loose.'

'So even if I'd done nothing wrong, they would arrest me?' I frowned, missing the logic of it.

'Indeed,' the Voice said seriously. 'But if your identity was revealed; Alice who brings down Tyrants would not be welcome in Otherland. You who embraces the good kind of madness are not welcome here.'

'Wait.' I tried to put my thoughts in order. 'Whoever you all are, you are in Otherland, meaning that you embrace the bad kind of madness, so why are you helping me? Why didn't you let the King's soldiers take me?'

An agitated murmur ran through the Voices. 'No!' the first one who had saved me cried, sounding distressed. 'We are not of the bad kind of madness! Do not think of us that way, Champion. Do not dishonour us like that.'

'We are not here of our own free will,' a deeper Voice said angrily. 'Unlike you, we do not have the freedom to move. Nor can we choose where we live and grow.'

'So when his Majesty King Aberius cut this land off from Underland, we had no choice in the matter,' another Voice said miserably.

'But in our hearts we remain loyal to Underland,' added another unidentifiable Voice.

'I'm sorry I offended you!' I cried in exasperation. 'But what _are_ you?'

'Look around,' the Voices whispered together. 'We are all around you, Alice At Last.'

I looked around and scowled. 'All I see are...trees.' My own voice trailed off as I stared at the tall trees surrounding me. At the branches that had pulled me back. 'You're _trees?_'

'Yes,' the Voices said together. 'We are the Trees of Otherland, of what was once Underland. We are Friends of Underland, and so of you.'

To my surprise, I realised that the idea of talking trees did not shock me. It seemed...natural, in a place that had once been Underland. 'Do the trees in Underland talk as well?' I asked. 'They never did while I was there.'

'They can, of course, but you see the trees of Underland have never forgiven King Aberius, or the people of Underland for letting so many of their kin be sacrificed to Otherland,' the deep Voice said gravely. 'There were of course some who encouraged and nurtured the bad kind of madness, but the majority of trees and plants cast away were innocent of crimes committed. Therefore the trees of Underland refuse to share their wisdom and knowledge with the people, and are neutral in the Wars between monarchs.'

'That's...' I couldn't find words to finish my sentence as a great stab of pity for these noble beings hit me. They had no hope, no future. They were trapped forever in this terrible land, with no chance of escape. Tears came to my eyes at the thought. 'Is there anything I can do?'

'Yes Champion,' the first, gentle Voice said softly. 'You can honour us by using our help to get out of here. You can escape from here, as we cannot. And you can remember us when you are home safe, in Underland.'

'I will,' I promised instantly. 'I'll find my way out.'

'There is no Time to waste then; listen carefully,' the trees replied, and their whispers became more urgent.

'There is more than one way to get out of here, but only two don't involve a potion of some sorts.'

'The process of making the potion is too long and arduous to be of use; you must leave one of the other ways.'

'The first is through the hole which you came down. But of the six doors which you can exit through, five of them are heavily guarded, and the sixth, which you, most fortunately, chose to come through, opens onto the Deserted Garden.'

'Hags and Trolls and other creatures loyal to the King live there, and do not hesitate to inform the King about any mysterious newcomers.'

'I met a Hag there!' I exclaimed. 'I didn't tell her my name, though.'

'Good girl,' a Tree rustled approvingly.

'So what about the second way out?' I asked quickly.

'It is not easy either, but it's much more reliable than the Rabbit Hole. It's only possible to go _up _the Rabbit Hole at one particular time in a day, and at that time, all the doors are locked and guarded. But the second way out is open always.'

'Is it another Hole?'

'No it is... a Mirror.'

'A mirror?' Memories of the time I had entered Wonderland through the Looking Glass rushed unbidden into my head. I smiled as I remembered hearing the Jabberwocky poem for the first time, and struggling to understand it.

'It is a direct passage to Underland,' a distant Voice told me. 'But it lies hidden in the King's own chambers. Very few people know of it. Only the King himself and a few trusted advisers.'

'How do you know about it, then?' I asked curiously.

'The King has long underestimated us,' a tree said, and I could hear the smugness and pride in her voice. 'We hear all sorts of things, Champion.'

I smiled. 'The King has lost a valuable asset in you, then.'

'Indeed,' the tree replied, sounding very pleased with herself. 'Thank you, Champion. But for all his cruelty and tyranny, remember the King is cunning as a fox and clever too. You must not underestimate him as he will surely do to you. He is more dangerous than the Red Queen; his anger is carefully controlled, and when set loose, devastating.'

'And I have to somehow get into his chambers?' I asked in confirmation.

'Yes.'

'How do I get there?'

The Tree that had saved me answered me. 'The King's castle lies on a high mountaintop, above the tree line. We will guide you through the forest, but I am afraid you will be on your own after that. Once out of the protection of the forest, it is an hour's walk to the Castle.' I listened patiently and tried to commit it all to memory, as the Trees recounted the correct way to the King's castle, Karzaron, they called it. There were many interruptions, as each Tree seemed to have a different opinion on how to get to the castle. At last they pieced out a solitary path that wasn't used often. I was confident enough about that part; it was the breaking in part I was worried about. Suddenly, I remembered something.

'What did you do to me earlier?' I asked the first Voice again.

'What do you mean?'

'The Boar...he didn't see me. I heard you say something I didn't understand beforehand. Did you... make me invisible?' I felt incredibly foolish saying it, but it might just solve our problem.

'Not exactly,' the Tree replied. 'It wasn't an invisibility spell; it simply renders you of no interest at all to any that lay eyes on you. Their attention would be diverted, and they would forget that they ever saw anything.'

'Oh. I didn't know trees could do magic.'

The Trees laughed. 'We can't,' one said. I frowned. What else was it?

'At least, not magic with spells,' the Tree amended. 'You see...some trees have the ability to project a shield around themselves – it's extra protection to compensate for not being able to move. When I was holding you back with my branches, I was able to expand the shield to include you as well. I dropped it when they left. I do not have the strength or the natural ability to extend it for over a few metres. Sadly, that means I cannot help you in Karzaron.'

'That's a shame,' I sighed. 'It sounds like a very useful ability. Thank you for using up your strength to protect me.'

'It was a pleasure, Alice of Underland. I do not regret it in the slightest.'

'Can trees in Underland do it as well?'

'Of course! It is a rare gift, but there are others who have it. In fact, there is one that can extend his shield miles in every direction. He was able to briefly put aside his differences with the Royal family of Underland, and used his gift to protect Marmoreal and as much of the surrounding area as possible from the Jabberwocky and the Red Cards.'

I could have listened to the Trees talk about Underland and its history for hours, but unfortunately, we had to focus on breaking into a royal fortress.

'If only we had Pishalver,' I mused half an hour later, when still no feasible solutions had been presented. Many had been suggested, but there was always a flaw. It didn't help that none of the trees had actually seen the castle, no matter how much they'd heard about it.

'Pishalver!' The Trees visually perked up at this. 'Of course! How could we not have thought of that before?'

'You have Pishalver in Otherland?'

'No, but the Hags must possess a potion like it,' the deep-voiced tree said determinedly. 'There's an abandoned hut nearby; we could guide you to it, and help you take the right one.'

'Then I could get into the castle easily!' I cried in delight. 'No one would even notice me.'

'You should wait to take the potion until you're at the castle though,' a softly spoken Tree whispered so faintly, I had to strain to hear. 'The journey will take too long otherwise. Time is valuable; and there will be no bloodhound rebel to help you this time.'

_Bayard. I wonder how he is._ I smiled at the memory of racing across the red sands of Crims on his back, although at the time I was too worried about Hatter to properly feel the speed we were going at, or the adrenaline coursing through my veins.

'While we are there, do you think the hut will have food or water?' I asked hopefully. My stomach rumbled just then, and I clamped a hand over it in embarrassment.

'When was the last time you ate?' the gentle Tree asked, sounding concerned.

'I don't know exactly. Two days, perhaps... I had a little drink this morning, but then a fish appeared...'

'Those Gargarrahs are vicious,' another Tree sighed. 'Come over here; there is a stream running through my roots. You are very welcome to it, Champion.'

'That's very kind of you,' I replied gratefully, and followed the Tree's voice to a tall pine a few metres away. I knelt down and eagerly drank from the water flowing amongst the kind tree's roots. It was mixed up with the soil; but it still tasted better to me than any water ever had before. It eased the ache in my stomach a little, and soothed my cracked lips. The trees cautioned me not to drink a lot at once, promising to guide me to another safe water source later. I followed their advice, confident that they'd know best.

'As for food, a few hundred metres away there grows one a shrub that grows edible fruit; one of the only ones in Otherland,' the deep-voiced Tree told me. 'We will lead you to it.'

'Yes, it's on your way,' the gently-spoken, (first) Tree, said. 'You should go, Alice of Underland. The sooner you leave here, the better.'

I had to admit, I liked being called Alice of Underland. It felt _right_. Underland was my home after all. I smiled warmly at the Tree, and a thought occurred to me. 'What's your name?' I asked suddenly, inwardly wondering if Trees _had _names. If any did, Underland ones would.

'I am Fairennia Tsiannai Pinus,' the Tree said, pride showing in her voice.

'Again, thank you for saving me, Fairennia.' I curtseyed to her, wishing I didn't have to say goodbye to this kind-hearted, caring Tree who was so willing to help me get home and prepared to defy her own kingdom for it. None of these Trees deserved their fate. I swallowed hard. 'Thank you for everything... I'm grateful to you all. Fairfarren; I won't forget any of you, and if there's anything more I can do –'

'Do not worry yourself about us,' Fairennia whispered, and I imagined her smiling, if she had a face. 'Good luck, Alice of Underland...and Fairfarren.'

I laid a hand on the smooth, dark tree trunk for a moment, before resolutely walking away in the direction that the black bare branches pointed. As I made my way through the shadowy forest, I found comfort in the fact that not all was bad, in Otherland.

* * *

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	6. Vials, Bottles and a Fortress

**Im very sorry, but unfortunately thats the last chapter for two weeks :( I hope you all have a good summer anyway, & I'll almost definitely get some writing done while Im away so i can update really quickly when I get back! Hopefully u guys wont have forgotten me&my story by then :P Btw, it would make me reeeally happy if I come back to an inbox full of reviews ;) **

**Thanks to everyone whos read/reviewed/faved/alerted! :)**

**Disclaimer: I only own OCs &Otherland! :)**

* * *

Chapter 6 - Vials, Bottles and a Fortress

The Hatter stood in the throne room, fidgeting nervously with his pincushion ring. He had forgiven his Queen for not allowing them to leave for Otherland immediately last night, but really, this was too much. It was _Alice_! It was completely unacceptable, to delay her rescue. Their Champion needed them! However, no matter how the Madness pushed at the Hatter's mind and strived to overcome it, he had too much respect for the Queen to interrupt her court duties.

The White Queen sat serenely on her throne, smiling graciously and patiently waiting as one by one, the lords and ladies of her court bowed and curtseyed to her, before leaving the throne room. The White Rabbit stood dutifully by her side, looking much happier and more comfortable there than he ever had in the Red Queen's court, the Hatter thought. Occasionally the Queen's gaze flickered over to where her friends stood, but other than that, she showed no sign of boredom or impatience.

At long last, the last noble bowed and left and the servants closed the doors behind them as they too discretely left. Absolem fluttered down to land on the arm of the Mirana's throne, and the Hatter and Mallymkun both sighed in relief.

'I'm so sorry about all that,' the Queen said, rising from her throne and coming forward. 'But they do insist on it at least once a week, and unfortunately, that day happened to be today. I trust you are all well rested and breakfasted?'

'Eggs!' Thackery yelled, tossing one at Mallymkun, who easily impaled it on her hatpin. Luckily it was hardboiled.

'I'll take that as a yes,' she said with a smile. Then her face turned serious. 'Are you sure you all want to do this? Otherland is a very dangerous place, and once there, there will be no one to help you. It is not too late to change your minds. I could send White Knights instead –'

'No,' the Hatter interrupted. 'Forgive me your Majesty, but the White Knights are not known for taking the initiative. They benefit from direct orders, and I do not believe that they would fare well in Otherland. Say what you will; I am going.'

'If Hatter is, so am I,' Mallymkun said resolutely. 'Someone's gotta be there to calm him down.' The Hatter grinned brightly at Mally.

'If tha' wee besom's in danger, it's our duty to help her,' the March Hare growled, putting a teacup lovingly in his pocket.

'I'm in, it sounds like a marvellous adventure,' Chessur yawned. 'And contrary to what the rest of you think, I _do_ care about Alice, and I wish to see her back in Underland in one piece.'

'Do you honestly expect me to let that pack of lunatics go into Otherland by themselves?' Absolem snorted.

'I suppose you're right,' she sighed, a small smile spreading across her features. 'Alice is lucky to have such good friends.'

'It's no less than she deserves,' the Hatter stated, his entire being visibly brightening at the Queen's praise. Thackery giggled manically and winked at Mallymkun. She scowled back.

'Of course,' Mirana agreed, before turning and walking briskly to a cupboard concealed at the back of her throne room. Only a few, namely those in the throne room at that moment, knew of it. 'Now, to get to Otherland, you may either fall down the rabbit hole, or take a potion. The rabbit hole is heavily guarded by the King's soldiers, and the fall will hurt. So I have concluded that the best way to travel there is by potion.'

'I'd prefer by Hat,' Mallymkun muttered.

'Tarrant, could you please help me with this?' Mirana asked, gesturing towards one of the boxes stowed in the cupboard. He went forward willingly, and lifting it down easily, set it on a table next to the Queen's throne. She unlocked it swiftly, to reveal three rows of delicate vials, each holding a light purple liquid. Twelve potions, in all.

'Jabberwocky blood,' the Hatter said flatly, and for a moment, his eyes burned bright orange, and then a deep dark blue, before he regained control and they returned to a –albeit slightly darker – green.

'One of these will take us to Otherland?' Mallymkun enquired, jumping up onto the table.

Mirana nodded. 'If that is what you wish. And one will bring you back.'

Chessur floated over to the box. 'Who will carry the potion for Alice?' He reached out and pocketed his own return one. 'I would be happy to.'

'Tarrant will,' the White Queen smiled at him.

'M-me?' the Hatter stammered. 'But surely Chessur or Absolem would be a better choice?'

'I'm confident I can trust you to take the utmost care of it. Will you?'

The Hatter grinned proudly. 'Aye, my Queen. I promise I'll get Alice home, even if I have to sacrifice my own to do so.'

Her smile faltered slightly. 'Let's hope it doesn't come to that. But if it does, I am entrusting Absolem with an extra potion.'

'Take care of our Queen for us, McTwisp,' the Dormouse said bluntly to him.

'I will do my best, Mallymkun,' he replied gravely.

'You better.'

As they advanced one by one to retrieve their potions, the gravity of the situation finally settled on them. Thackery began to shake, and gripped his ladle tighter as he stared at the purple vial in his paw, and felt the weight of the other in his jacket pocket. Mallymkun firmly fastened her return potion to her waist, and with no small difficulty pulled the leaving vial out of the box. Absolem perched on the side of the box, and only his wings twitching betrayed his longing for his wonderfully soothing hookah. Chessur did not even attempt to hide the worry etched on his face, as he twisted and turned impatiently in the air. And as the Hatter tucked his and Alice's return potions into separate pockets – making sure they were both cushioned by swaths of material should the landing be hard – his eyes began to change colours violently and the rings around his eyes darkened. But then he thought of Alice, dear, forever-late, Alice, waiting for – relying on – him to rescue her, and his fear disappeared as quickly as it came. Determination and steadfast courage replaced the worry evident in his face and clothes, in turn giving strength to the others as they stood straighter around the table. The Hatter checked to make sure his long sword was secure at his waist, before picking up his vial of Jabberwocky blood and flicking open the cap. Then the White Queen and the White Rabbit watched as, as one, their five friends downed the Jabberwocky blood and within the space of a few seconds, vanished into a mist of purple smoke.

* * *

_Alice_

'Is that it?'

'Yes, Champion.'

Holding my breath, I quickly and quietly crept out from the protection of the trees into the wide clearing, empty save for the Hag's hut standing, abandoned and derelict, in the middle of it. I heaved a sigh of relief as I got closer. It was painstakingly obvious that no one had lived here for a long, long time. The wooden shutters were hanging off their hinges, several of the roof tiles had come loose and fallen to the ground, and rust covered the door handle. As for the garden, weeds sprouted up everywhere, almost obscuring the remains of the once neat, orderly rows. Carefully I pushed open the door, and stepped back instinctively at the vile, rotten smell that assailed me. Covering my mouth and nose with my sleeve, I advanced again and began to search through the cupboards. The ones in the kitchen only yielded rotten, decomposing food and the ones in the only other room, the bedroom, only contained rags and dirty blankets. Looking around, I gave into my temper and stamped my foot in frustration. What had the old Hag _done_ with her potions?

Then I paused as a muffled sound echoed my foot hitting against the floor. I stayed still for a second before the implications hit me, and I was suddenly scrabbling to pull the heavy woollen rug away from the earth floor. My hopes increased when I saw that the rug had been _nailed down_ to the floor. Luckily, one corner was looser than the others. I tugged and tugged at it, as the trees whispered to me to hurry. Finally it yielded and released its hold on the earthen floor, sending me tumbling backwards. I wasted no more time in pulling the rug back, to reveal a wooden trapdoor.

My grin faded and I rolled my eyes as I realised that the stupid trapdoor was locked. This Hag was certainly living up to my storybook's description. _Crafty, cunning and devious._ I ran outside and grabbed one of the stones lining the garden, then proceeded to bash in the lock, trying to shake off the feeling of a burglar. _It's necessary_, I thought silently_. I need this. _

Before too long, the rusty lock gave way, and triumphantly I wrenched the trapdoor open – and almost whooped in a most unladylike manner with delight at the sight of four trays of different potions, and a worn potion book. The first tray was labelled 'Punishments and Curses' so I hastily laid that aside. The second said 'Transformations' so I bypassed that one too. I took out the third, marked 'Enhanced Abilities' and ignored the fourth, which was simply called 'Plants'. In the third tray, there was around fifty little bottles. The first one I snatched up said 'Strength'; the second was 'Speed' and third 'Smell'. I'd identified the rest of the senses, when I noticed it was quiet. Too quiet. The trees, which had previously been whispering encouragement to me, were silent. Then the silence was broken by what sounded like a low, grumbling voice.

Hardly daring to breath, I crept over to the window, and what I saw filled me with horror and panic.

_It's okay, it's okay, she hasn't seen you yet..._ I chanted to myself as I searched desperately amongst the remaining potions. Stay _calm, Alice! Panic won't help you!_ But it was still there, ever present as the footsteps came closer and closer. 'Come on, where are you?' I hissed under my breath, and looked up with fear as the front door creaked.

I heard her slow footsteps move across the kitchen, and a sigh as something fell onto the ground. 'Lovely, homey smell,' she sighed, sniffing at the rancid stench that seemed to strengthen the moment she had entered.

Scanning the remaining bottles, I almost Futterwackened with joy as my eyes alighted on one labelled 'Shrinking.' I grabbed it, and then caught sight of the one next to it, with 'Invisibility' written on the label. Impulsively I took it too, and shoved them both in my pocket. It could come be useful.

Gently, I set the tray back inside, and pushed down the trapdoor, hoping she wouldn't notice the broken lock for a while. But as it closed, it gave an audible _click_. The shuffling in the kitchen abruptly stopped, and I froze, almost paralyzed with fear. Then the footsteps began again, making their way determinedly towards the bedroom, and snapping into action, I just had time to throw the rug back in place and gulp down the contents of one of the bottles, before the door slammed open.

This Hag looked much the same as the first one I'd encountered. Only her hair was straw-coloured, wispy, and hung to her waist, and she had two eyes and a deep scar that ran from her right eyebrow to her jaw line**.** She had more warts on her hands, and wore heavy wooden clogs. She stalked into the bedroom, grumbling incoherently under her breath, and proceeded to search the room, while I held mine. She was still searching fruitlessly when I slipped out of the window and fled noiselessly across the clearing. It was only when I reached the trees again that I heard the outraged snarl, and I guessed that she'd found the freed corner of the rug, and the broken trapdoor.

'Oh, the poor dear Champion!' a Tree cried pitifully.

'Fairennia will never forgive us,' one said gravely.

'And we shall never forgive ourselves,' another finished sadly.

'You won't have to; I'm _here!_'

The Trees moved their branches impatiently, as they searched with their invisible eyes. I ducked as one swung above me. 'Alice!' they cried. 'Where are you?'

'Here!'I touched the trees around me as I moved steadily away from the hut. 'I'm safe! Look!' I gently put the bottle I'd drank from on a branch, and all eyes turned to it, as it became visible once I let go of it. Then they began to laugh together, a heavenly sound that one couldn't help but join in.

'Our Champion is safe!' one cried out joyously, but was immediately shushed by the others, and whispers were heard throughout the forest as the news spread. Grinning, I set the second potion on the branch, next to the first.

'Well done, Champion,' a deep-voiced, stately old Tree said. 'You were wise to take the Invisibility potion as well as the Shrinking one. Let me see...the bottle states that one dose lasts for six hours. In your hurry, you took two, so we must make the most of the next twelve hours.'

'Definitely.' I pocketed the two potions and set off again; touching the Trees I passed to alert them of my presence.

'The Hag is coming this way!' a Tree right at the edge of the forest cried fearfully.

'Go!'

'Run, Alice of Underland!'

'Good luck, Alice!'

'Fairfarren all!' I called quietly, before breaking into a run and heading south, to where Karzaron awaited, gathering strength and courage from the kind whispers that accompanied me.

* * *

Far away from both the Champion of Underland and the Queen of Underland, sat the King of Otherland on his dark throne at Karzaron.

He tapped his long, slender fingers on the arm of his throne as he waited impatiently for the couple in front of him to voice their complaints. Did it really matter if the Granesmrars, creatures under his command, had killed their only son? Children were replaceable; the Granesmrars' loyalty was not. They needed to eat, and it had taken a long time to forge a, still fragile, truce with the Granesmrars, and he had no intention of relinquishing it to make a few nondescript villagers happy. Yet as they trailed off and looked at him expectantly – and, naturally, fearfully – he smiled down at them.

'I am sincerely sorry for the misfortunes which have _tragically _befallen your family. It is always a shame to see those most promising members of our kingdom struck down before their full potential has been reached. I assure you, I will do all in my power to avenge your son.'

'Thank you, sir, you are too kind,' the man said, bowing his head. 'We are most grateful for your consenting to listen to us, your inferiors.'

The smile on the King's face was terrifying. 'Of course. You are always welcome here. The guards will now show you out.'

'Thank you, your Majesty!' the woman called, before she was firmly led out. 'May fate and the heavens bless you! We shall not forget your kindness!'

_No, I think not,_ he thought. _How can you, when it will be the last thought in your feeble, superstitious heads?_

As the snarls echoed outside the heavy ebony doors, he motioned to a guard, and the next speaker was brought in. A Hag, the King thought with distaste. Fortunately, the distance of the thirteen marble steps between them was enough so only a faint whiff of that rotten smell reached him.

'Yes?' he asked courteously, hiding the disdain in his voice.

'Your Majesty...' she rasped, falling to her knees before him. 'It's an honour...a real honour...'

'Get on with it,' he snapped, abandoning decorum. Hags appreciated honesty, and manners were wasted on them anyway.

She smiled crookedly, revealing a few broken, yellow teeth. 'I was in the Garden yesterday...'

'Yes?' He sat upright and crossed his legs. This could be interesting.

She laughed harshly at his sudden interest. 'I thought you'd like this, my King. Listen well. As I was saying, I was in the Garden when I came across an _unknown person_.'

'Go on.'

'She seemed confused, and did not know where she was. She introduced herself as a "lost girl". A very pretty girl, too. Then she asked me _where in Underland she was_!'

The King laughed, even more cruelly than the Hag. The very sound sent shivers up the spines of those present. And he knew it. 'Underland?' he repeated, and when she nodded, he laughed again. 'Wonderful. Please continue.'

She did, clearly enjoying herself. 'Aye it was amusing, to see her looking so lost. As soon as I told her she wasn't in Underland, she began rambling about people waiting for her, and about a promise she had to keep. Then she mentioned Absolem.' The Hag spat on the ground. 'That good for nothing know-it-all. Soon after that, she left, and it was only after she'd gone, I realised who she was. Who she must be.'

'Absolem, you say?' the King frowned as he pondered it, and a possibility occurred to him.

The old crone leaned forward, and hissed; '_Alice.'_

_Alice._ Of course.

That annoying do-gooder he'd heard so much about. Everyone in Underland seemed to adore her, even though she'd left them. He remembered when she'd first come to Underland...and shook off the memories, letting a cruel grin spread over his handsome face. _'Excellent.'_

'You are pleased, my Lord?' the Hag asked, slyly.

'Yes.' He smiled and clapped his hands together. 'This is wonderful news. Soon Underland's little idol will be putty in our hands, and we shall have control over the very heart of Underland itself.' Then his sharp eyes focused on the Hag again. 'You have done well, Barboushka.'

'Thank you, my King,' Leering unpleasantly, she bowed low. 'I came to you as soon as I realised...at my own expense... It's an honour, my lord...'

'Yes, yes, you shall have your reward,' he said irritably, waving her out, and nodding to another of the guards that lined the room. The guard took out a bag of gold from his pocket and tossed it to the Hag. She caught it easily, and cradling it to her wizened old frame, shuffled out of the throne room muttering praises and blessings to the King, not one of them sincere. It was another uneasy truce that bound them together. He knew that Barboushka, or any of the Hags, would not hesitate to slip a knife between his ribs, if it benefited her, in any way.

'You are all dismissed,' he said loudly to the rest of his attendants.

'But sir –'

'No more people today; I shall see them tomorrow. _Is that understood?'_

'Yes, of course, Majesty, of course –'

'Good. Now get out.'

When he was at last left in peace, the King got up and stretched, before striding out onto his balcony that overlooked the grand Zargora mountain range. Night had fallen, and the fortress of Karzaron was dark and completely in shadow, as it was a new moon tonight. As it had been foir the last thirteen years he'd been on the throne.

So, Alice had come to Otherland. He mused on the effects this would have. Tomorrow he would send out a search party for her. Somehow, he doubted that she had already succumbed to one of the creatures in his kingdom. The Alice he remembered, that everyone in Underland talked of, was most definitely a fighter. Although, perhaps he should keep his Granesmrars busy until she was found. They would not hesitate to determine if she was of use to the King or not, if they came across her when hungry. And he needed her alive.

Then his thoughts went to the White Queen. She would undoubtedly know if Alice had entered Otherland; the butterfly would have told her. He scowled. The King and Absolem had never gotten along. So he had a rescue party to deal with also...and an all-out war with Underland to look forward to. He grinned. This really was a piece of luck. Finding Alice would not be hard; dealing with the rescue party even easier. He could enlist the Granesmrars to take care of them; they would be only too happy to. It was what they did best, and he'd noticed them growing restless of late.

As lights were extinguished and bodies cleared away, King Sagredver Talorius looked out over his kingdom, and was confident that everything would turn out fine.

For him, anyway.


	7. The Game

**Hey everyone! I'm really sorry for the long wait, only got back home late on Monday night :( & I have more bad news; the next chapter won't be up until Sunday, at earliest. I'm so sorry, but after that I'm home for good! I hope you're all having a good summer, and haven't forgotten about this story yet! Thanks to everyone who reviewed, faved or alerted while I was away :D you guys are awesome!**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Alice in Wonderland!**

**Warning: Violence **

* * *

Chapter 7 – The Game

As the rescue party hurried through the dark world of Otherland, they had no idea that at very moment, the King was planning their downfall. They were too focused on where Alice, their Champion, could be.

That morning, they'd landed in the middle of a treacherous bog. It had taken them the best part of three hours to make their way out, but it was thanks to Absolem and Chessur, who could find the correct path from above, that they got out at all. When they finally stumbled onto dry land again, Thackery was clinging to the Hatter and refusing to let go, while Mallymkun was perched on the very top of his Hat.

Absolem decided that they should head in the direction of the Deserted garden, so they did. The countryside around them could hardly be described as countryside at all. It was simply a broad, black wasteland of rotting, fallen trees, thorny bedraggled shrubs and black sluggish streams. When they walked, clouds of black dust rose up from their feet, and soon they were all covered with the dark grime, even Absolem. Their one blessing was that the barren wasteland was deserted, apart from them. It would be easy to spot them at a distance, for there was nothing to obstruct the view.

After about an hour, Thackery consented to come down and hop alongside them, but Mallymkun remained on the Hat. It was more convenient and faster that way.

At last, when brillig approached, Chessur spied the sea in the distance. This was greeted by cheers from all, and the prospect of cleaning the dirt and dust off themselves brightened their spirits considerably.

As they neared the bright blue sea, the shrubs and rotten trees disappeared, until they only walked upon an empty plain. To the west, the sea stretched out endlessly, while to the south the forest loomed closer. They hastened their pace when the salty scent of the ocean hit them. It seemed to increase their longing to reach the sea tenfold**.** The bright blue, sparkling sea seemed more than a little out of place in that cheerless land.

'Strange that such beauty should exist here,' Chessur said thoughtfully, voicing what was on all their minds.

'Perhaps that is the point at which King Aberius cut them off from Underland?' the Hatter suggested.

'Perhaps,' the Cheshire Cat agreed. 'Look at how brightly the sun shines there! It seems a different world from the rest of Otherland.'

Then Absolem's eyes widened with fear. 'Stop!' he barked forcefully. The rest of the party looked at him with surprise, and then curiosity, as he flew away towards the sea.

'Stupid butterfly,' Chessur muttered under his breath.

'Be quiet; he most likely has a good reason for leaving,' Mallymkun reprimanded him.

The four Underlandians continued to stare as the butterfly rose higher in the air, and approached the cliffs, before disappearing over the edge of them. Almost immediately, he flew back up, and dread was clear in his face. He mouthed something they couldn't make out, and then they watched, open-mouthed, as the sight before them cracked and shattered into a million pieces. And instead of the bright blue sparkling sea, an angry, rolling, black ocean greeted them. Large, white-crested waves rose threateningly and crashed against the cliffs, while rain poured down and thunder growled in the skies. Lightning flashed above, as they watched the illusion break down before their eyes. Only one detail remained the same; the tiny blue butterfly speeding towards them.

'It's an illusion,' Mallymkun breathed, and they had to strain to hear her tiny voice over the roaring of the waves and the heavy rumbling of the thunder.

'And we were about to walk right into it,' the Hatter said, dazed.

'Good thing Nivens isn't here,' Chess said with a trace of his old humour, but no one laughed.

Thackery whimpered and jumped onto Tarrant again.

'Can you see it now?' Absolem asked sharply as he drew to a halt before them.

'Aye,' the Hatter said firmly, and the other joined in with him.

'Let's go,' the butterfly said brusquely, and flew off again, heading towards the forest. Chessur sped after him and Tarrant began to run too, firmly holding onto his Hat with one hand. Thackery dug his claws into his shoulder and held on for dear life, frantically singing 'Twinkle twinkle little bat' to calm himself down.

'What are we running from?' Chessur shouted at Absolem, as they continued to run.

'Granesmrars,' was the faint reply, but before any of them could ask what that was, a great screech rose up from behind them.

'Involuntarily, together they turned, just in time to see a large, black, bat-like creature rise up over the edge of the cliff. At first, they assumed it _was_ a giant bat, but then it raised its head and gave out another inhumane screech, before spreading its wings and landing on the cliff top.

That twisted creature was certainly not a bat.

It had the head and body of a human; but it didn't look human. Its body was emaciated and skeletal, and its pale skin was stretched tightly across its jutting bones. It wore only a loincloth, as its large black wings seemed to provide a cloak for it. Although its body was thin, its long arms that extended into wings were powerful and muscular. They ended in long-nailed claws, and this Granesmrar had a wingspan of about ten feet. But it was its face that everyone stared at.

The Granesmrar had an almost alien, eerily beautiful face, and perfectly shaped features. Its lips were full and bright red, its nose was small and straight, and its eyes were large, black and face was heart-shaped, with a pointed chin, and feathery light-brown hair covered this Granesmrar's head. Unwillingly, the rescue party stepped closer to it, marvelling at the alien creature's beauty.

But then another Granesmrar rose up from the cliff face, and the first one's head snapped around at an unnatural angle to face it. Its red lips curled back over its sharp, pointed teeth as it snarled harshly at the second creature, breaking the spell. The second creature hissed back. This one was female, and just as beautiful as the first. She wore a light tunic, and heavy, raven-black hair cascaded down her back to her waist. Then a third one appeared and everyone – except Absolem – stifled a gasp at the blood-soaked female body hanging limp in its arms.

The Hatter's heart leapt and a great despair descended on him as for a second he thought it was Alice, but then her head rolled to face them. And instead relief filled him, accompanied by guilt for feeling relieved at the unlucky fate of a stranger. Blood gushed from a wound in her neck, and as the Hatter, the Hare, Mallymkun, Chessur and Absolem watched in horror, the Granesmrar carrying the woman lowered its head and began to suck greedily at the flowing blood. The other two snarled angrily and leapt forward. The brown-haired male grabbed the arm of the unconscious victim and pulled her away from the third Granesmrar with inhumane strength. The third Granesmrar, a blonde long-haired male growled and bared its teeth at him, and their snarls increased. However their attention was quickly diverted as the woman woke up, and began to scream at the sight of these awful creatures. But her screams were cut off when the female abruptly twisted her neck, killing her instantly. They gathered around their now dead prey, and settled down to feed, with the occasional squabble. Not one of them noticed as a very edible group sprinted away, and disappeared into the trees.

* * *

'So those were Granesmrars?' Chessur asked Absolem grimly, as they gathered around a fire, trying to warm up.

'Yes,' Absolem nodded gravely. 'Those are the King's most valuable weapons.'

Mallymkun shuddered. 'How in Underland did we escape?'

'They depend mostly on their sense of smell, which is excellent, and unparalleled in Otherland. But as you can see, they were focusing on their victim, and each other, and the blood especially. They are extremely sensitive to spilt blood and can sense it miles away. It was pure luck that we arrived before, and not after the kill, when the bloodlust is still on them. At that time they are undefeatable.'

There was silence after that, while everyone stared into the fire, immersed in their own thoughts. Thackery was hiding behind Chessur, and for once, the Cat let him. Absolem was perched on a stone, and Mallymkun was curled up on the Hatter's Hat. He sat with his legs drawn up to him, and his chin resting on his knees, staring into the fire, as his eyes alternated between orange, blue and green. At last Chessur spoke the question that everyone was thinking, but no one wanted to say.

'How could Alice survive this place?'

'If anyone can, she can,' the Hatter growled, eyes glowing orange. 'She's alive. I know it.'

Mallymkun shot the Cat a warning glance, and he tactfully changed the subject. 'I'll do first shift tonight, who wants to be second?'

'I will,' the Hatter said morosely.

'I'll go after,' Mallymkun volunteered.

'Then I'll relieve you, and wake the rest of you at dawn,' Absolem said decidedly, purposely leaving Thackery out. Thankfully, the March Hare didn't seem to notice, and continued to mutter to himself about spoons and tea cups waging wars with great black bats.

'Absolem?' Mally asked, stifling a yawn.

'Yes?'

'Can you tell us more about Granesmrars? So we can be prepared, if we ever see them again.' The Hatter's hand tightened on his sword hilt in response, but he said nothing. Thackery peeped out from behind Chessur, and immediately started digging a hole for himself.

'Of course; that's a good idea,' the butterfly said thoughtfully. 'The Granesmrars first appeared in Underland, in that land that became Otherland, shortly before they invited Death in. They're believed to be the children of Death himself. Some say their mothers were angels he violated, others that they were various demons of the skies that gave themselves to him willingly. There are even stories that Death created them himself, to help him in his nefarious deeds, and to supply him with more souls. One thing's certain; they revel in death and destruction, and are pure evil. Not like the Bandersnatch, who does have a soft side, or even the Jabberwocky, who believe it or not, was an innocent creature once.'

'Why haven't we heard any of these stories before?' the Hatter asked, frowning.

Absolem sighed. 'After Otherland was created, no one wanted to or saw any reason to speak of them. They were determined to forget all the evil that had happened, and so, as Time passed, they did. King Aberius and I assured them that their return was not spoken of in the Oraculum, and so they put it behind them.

'But anyway; as I was saying, they are evil and deadly. They have an excellent sense of smell, sharp eye sight and hearing. They are volatile and driven ultimately by thirst. You also witnessed their incredible beauty today. Do not be deceived; beneath the façade they are ugly and rotten to the core. They use their beauty and their voice, to lure humans in. They feast on blood and raw flesh; any will do, but they prefer humans. Hags and Trolls don't taste as good.'

'Their voice didn't sound very… _attractive_, today,' Mallymkun interjected.

Absolem scowled. 'Of course it didn't; their victim was already unconscious and at their mercy. They do not speak in their natural, cruel voice to prey. Instead they don another that will draw you to them. If you ever hear it, resist it. Do not believe anything they say to you. They are utterly fake, and merciless killers. Granesmrars are creatures of darkness, your worst nightmares in the flesh. They are also loyal to the King, and under his command.' Then he stopped, and said abruptly; 'That's enough for tonight. You should all get some rest now; goodnight.'

'Unlikely,' Chessur muttered, and shared a brief smile with the Hatter. Thackery was already snoring in his hole, and Absolem had disappeared into a crack in the bark of a nearby tree. Mally yawned, and as the Hatter tipped his Hat forward to cover his face, she slipped onto his shoulder and curled up there. Chessur curled up in the air, and sighing, rested his face on his paws. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

The next morning was tedious, and uneventful. The five Underlandians stayed close together, keeping an eye and an ear out for the nightmare creatures. Absolem flew above, guiding them and on the lookout for danger. Every few minutes he would return and report to his friends. They moved swiftly and silently through the trees, and by noon they'd covered at least twenty miles. They stopped in a hollow for lunch. It wasn't very deep. But it would shield them from any approaching from behind, and gave them better protection than they would have out in the open. While eating their meagre lunch, Mally asked a question that had everyone looking up with sudden interest.

'How do you know so much about Otherland, Absolem?'

Four pairs of eyes focused on Absolem intently. 'I don't know what you're talking about,' he replied dismissively.

'You knew that Alice must be in Otherland; and you knew it was a terrible place.'

'Anyone who saw it when it was joined to Underland knows that.'

'You knew about the illusion on the cliff,' Mally persisted, while the other looked on worriedly.

'Only a guess.'

'You told us all about the Granesmrars, and you're guiding us to where Alice is now!'

'There are books and scrolls concerning –'

'Oh, you may as well tell them, Absolem, they're just going to keep guessing,' Chessur interrupted lazily, from where he lay grooming himself. 'And that one's never going to give up, once she suspects something. It's not_ that_ bad.'

'Aha!' Mallymkun cried triumphantly. 'So there _is_ something you're keeping from us!'

'Meddling Cat, when will you learn to mind your own business?' Absolem muttered darkly, glaring at Chessur, who only grinned wider in reply.

'Absolem, we're all on this journey together,' the Hatter said sharply. 'if we're going to get out alive, you can't keep important secrets from us.'

'It's not important,' he said irritably.

'So tell us,' Thackery cried. 'Or the Beasties will get you…' He looked around wildly, ears erect, then relaxed and let them drop.

'Fine!' the butterfly snapped, looking decidedly annoyed. 'This is not my first time in Otherland.'

'Why didn't you tell us?' Mallymkun yelled, irate.

'It wasn't important,' he replied, glowering at Chessur.

'Yes it was,' the Hatter growled, eyes flashing orange. 'When were yeh in Otherland, yeh guddler's scut?'

'Every time a new monarch has ascended to the Otherland throne, I've gone there to try and convince them to turn their back on the evil consuming them. I have not yet succeeded; not fully. One monarch; the King Aclebar, yielded and resolved to redeem his kingdom, but that brave man was killed by his own brother, Raskiobar, when he heard of his intentions. Needless to say, King Raskiobar refused to listen to me, and since then there have been none. I've managed to smuggle a few good people out of there over the years; but not enough. So far, I have failed. That is why I am all the more determined to get Alice out of here, given my past.'

His friends had calmed down by now, and the Hatter softened at the mention of Alice. 'When were you last there?' he asked.

'Sixteen years ago, thirteen years ago, and then again six or seven years ago,' Absolem said quietly. The Hatter stiffened as he said sixteen years ago; as he always did. It had been sixteen years since his entire family had been wiped out by the Jabberwocky, and the Red Queen. He shook off the thought quickly, and only a flash of orange betrayed its presence.

'The current King was only crowned thirteen years ago, wasn't he?' Chessur asked.

'Yes, that is correct,' Absolem answered. 'Are all your questions done? I will not apologize for not telling you before. It is a secret service I have been doing for the rulers of Underland since the days of King Aberius. Only Mirana, Iracebeth, those I have saved, or tried to save, and now all of you, know of it, and I intend to keep it that way.'

'What about –' the Hatter began.

' Yes, yes, you can tell Alice,' Absolem cut him off impatiently, sighing and ignoring the Hatter's surprised look. Of course he _had_ been going to ask about Alice, and he wondered if it was really that obvious to everyone.

The Dormouse narrowed her eyes suspiciously. 'Are you sure there's nothing else you're not telling us?' she demanded.

The Keeper of the Oraculum rolled his eyes at her. 'Of course; stupid mouse, do you honestly think I would trust you with all my secrets? There are things I am not telling you that don't concern this task. What a stupid question!'

'Ok, enough,' Chessur interrupted, rolling his eyes in turn. 'We've tarried here long enough; we should be on our way.'

'I agree,' the Hatter said, and began to pack up the food carefully, for there wasn't much. 'I cannot help wondering how _you_ found out, Chess.'

The Cheshire Cat grinned enigmatically. 'I have my ways.'

'Of course you do,' Mallymkun snorted. 'But for once, I'm actually glad of them.'

'Thank you, dear Mally,' he purred, rubbing against her and knocking her over.

'Get _off_ me!' she yelled crossly. 'Don't "dear Mally" me, _Cat_!'

'Very well, _Mouse_,' he replied, his good mood unvanquished.

'Ready yet?' Absolem asked impatiently. He was still scowling.

'Aye!' Thackery yelled, picking up a teacup and a plate, and tossing them at a nearby tree.

'No!' Absolem cried, but it was too late, and they shattered against the hard bark, the sound echoing loudly throughout the forest.

Thackery whimpered. Tarrant picked up the bag of food and laid a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder, as they waited for the repercussions of the Hare's actions.

'Now you've done it,' Absolem murmured, and Chessur vanished, just as the first black, bat-like shape came gliding down out of the treetops, and landed before them in the forest.

* * *

The King of Otherland was once again on his private balcony, surveying his kingdom with satisfaction, and a hint of boredom. Even in daytime, a dark shadow lay over Karzaron, painting it and the surrounding lands grey. The only colours in that sombre landscape were the dark green of the Trees, who refused to conform, and the white snow capping the distant peaks. Below him, the clash of swords and shields, and the whine and rush of arrows flying through the air could be heard, as his knights and soldiers practiced diligently. He could also hear the cries of pain as one disobedient servant was punished, and the shrill cries as warrior horses battled against a lone Kiarkaris, so far unsuccessfully, in the training ring.

'Your Majesty?'

He turned to see one of the few men he trusted to serve him at the entrance to the balcony. 'Yes?'

Sir Laghiard bowed and said formally; 'I wished to inform you that the Granesmrars you commissioned set off half an hour ago, my Lord.'

'Good.'

'They are certain of finishing their task before the day is over, but their leader would prefer to wait until tomorrow to report back to you, when the bloodlust has completely left them, and you are in less danger.'

'Very well; that is acceptable.'

'As for the search party for the Champion herself –'

'You would do well to remember that she is not a champion _here_, Laghiard.'

'Of course, my Lord,' Sir Laghiard bowed again, inwardly cursing himself, and backtracked hastily. 'The search party for the girl will be ready within the hour, and will consist of seven of our best trackers and five of our most highly trained knights. Myself, my brother Rako, and Lord Luard also volunteered to join them.'

'You may. Inform Sir Ifeb that until you return, he will take over your duties.'

'I will, my Lord. They will come in here before they leave, and swear their oath of allegiance to you.'

'As is always done. Is that all, Laghiard?'

'Not quite, my Lord.' He hesitated, the only crack in his smooth composure. 'When I was composing the search party, I could not help but notice that our best trackers, a couple of our best, most loyal knights, and our best assassins and kidnappers were missing. May I ask –?'

'No you may not,' the King replied harshly. 'It is not your business to know of all the missions on at this time, nor should you seek to make it your business. If I find you meddling again, there _will_ be serious consequences. Do you understand me, Laghiard?'

'Yes, my Lord. I apologize profusely, my Lord –'

'Is that all now?'

'Yes, m –'

'You are dismissed.'

Gratefully the man escaped, leaving his king alone on the balcony. As Sagredver turned back to his kingdom, he was no longer bored. His game had begun, and as always, he held all the cards.

* * *

**Reviews greatly appreciated! :)**


	8. Creatures of Darkness

**Hey guys, thank you for being patient with me these last couple of weeks, from now on I'll be updating lots more frequently! :D **

**What do you guys think of the Granesmrars? When I first began planning Otherland, they were one of the first things/creatures I came up with : ) **

**Warnings: Violence**

* * *

Chapter 8 – Creatures of Darkness

The Hatter and his friends watched in dismay as at least a dozen more bat-like creatures dropped out of the treetops and landed before them. He and Chessur simultaneously stepped in front of Thackery and Mallymkun, while Absolem flew to Tarrant's shoulder.

'Stay calm,' he whispered almost inaudibly to them. 'Don't try to run.'

_For Alice,_ the Hatter thought firmly to himself as he tried to heed the butterfly's words and keep his Madness under control. _You need to come out of this for Alice, and for Thackery and Mally too. Find your muchness, for their sake!_

The first Granesmrar then drew all their attention as it straightened up and stepped forward. They all heard Thackery's gasp as the Granesmrar's arms dropped away from its wings to hang normally at its bony sides, while its wings folded neatly on its back. The others concealed their surprise better and only Absolem seemed completely unperturbed at this sudden human-like development. The strong, muscular arms looked odd and out of place attached to that skeletal body. The first creature was undoubtedly in charge, as the others gathered behind it. It wore little more than the other Granesmrars they'd seen, and wavy chestnut-coloured hair fell to its shoulders. Its face was just as perfectly sculptured as the others.

'Greetingsss, travellers,' it hissed at the Underlandians. 'Are you those who we ssearch for?'

'I don't believe so,' the Hatter said merrily, desperately hoping that these Granesmrars weren't clever. He let out a high-pitched giggle. 'No, I'm positive we aren't.'

'Positive is not a word we use here,' the same Granesmrar replied menacingly.

'Don't mind him, he's mad,' Chessur said smoothly. 'I can assure you that we are not who you are looking for.' The Hatter grinned at them and began to hum "twinkle twinkle little bat" to prove the Cat's point.

'We are looking for those of _Underland,_' the creature stated, his black eyes piercing into theirs.

'Haven't seen them,' Mally piped up from the Hatter's other shoulder.

The Granesmrar took another step forward and sniffed, while an involuntary shudder ran through them all. 'You do not sssmell of Otherland,' he hissed.

'They are not of Otherland!' a female Granesmrar behind him snapped. 'Can you not sense the positive energy radiating from them, fool!'

'The King will not be pleased if they are the wrong onesss, sister,' he replied irritably.

'As if he could punish us!' the female cried contemptuously. 'You worry too much, Rasha.' She sprang forward to land beside him, and tilted her head to the side, her thick black locks framing her thin face as she drew her lips back to reveal pointed white teeth. 'Such beautiful blood, brother,' she whispered, licking her lips.

'They are the right ones, I'm sure of it,' a third harsh voice joined them. A jolt of terror ran through the Underlandians as they recognized him as none other than the blonde-haired male Granesmrar from the day before. He was glaring malevolently at them, and his wings were tensed, ready for fight or flight. A leather band ran around his head and over his forehead, effectively keeping his long hair back, and he wore long ragged shorts. 'The King told us it was likely that a meddling blue butterfly would be with them, and there he sits, on the madman's shoulder.'

Absolem froze as suddenly he became the object of scrutiny of two dozen hungry black eyes. Previously they had taken him for a patch of colour on the Hatter's bright coat.

'Absolem,' Rasha breathed, and began to laugh; a harsh, chilling sound. 'You got away from us last time, but as I ssswore on Death himself; never again. I shall kill you myself if I must, O Wise One.'

The Hatter had half a second to draw his sword before, with an ear-splitting cry, the Granesmrar sprang. He was not expecting it, and it was with a sick feeling the Hatter slashed his sword against the creature's chest, tearing his wings as well.

For a split second, the other creatures stared as their leader fell to the ground, screaming horribly, and then the blonde male flew forward, an ugly expression on his face. Chessur appeared next to him, blocking his path and swiftly cut through the muscles in his right arm using his sharp claws. The blonde Granesmrar howled, and the female jumped forward also, hatred in her eyes as Chessur finished him off.

She leapt to the side as the Hatter aimed his blade at her, and continued to dodge and duck every swipe, hissing eagerly. The others followed her, and Thackery began to throw his teacups at them, but they only temporarily stunned the creatures. Mallymkun ran to the end of the Hatter's arm and dived forward, driving her hatpin into the black haired female's eye, who screamed, before roughly grabbing the Dormouse and flinging her away.

'No!' the Hatter cried, and used the creature's momentary distraction to stab her. She collapsed at his feet, but he had no time to feel revolt at himself for killing a female, before another Granesmrar took her place.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Chessur evaporate, and then appear just in time to catch Mally. Yelling fiercely, she clung to his fur and fought the creatures alongside him.

But however fiercely they fought, even with Absolem shouting advice and warnings at them, they were outnumbered by more than three to one, and their strength was waning.

As the Hatter raised his sword to block yet another angry, deadly claw, he wondered briefly if he would ever see Alice's pretty face again, or her warm, glowing smile. And it was in that moment he realised he'd rather die than never see her again, and with startling clarity, that he might even lo-

Then Thackery's scream rang out from behind him, and he turned to see his friend struggling frantically as a Granesmrar's claws closed around him. The creature paid no notice as he repeatedly hit its scrawny legs with his spoon and even gnawed on them with his teeth. Its strength held out against the Hare's frantic struggles, and it steadily rose upwards.

The Hatter growled and quickly threw a pair of scissors at the Granesmrar, who dodged it easily, much to his chagrin. Mally could only watch in despair, while Chessur was having enough trouble with the angry Granesmrars attacking him. Absolem was speeding towards the fast-rising Thackery, when suddenly, so quickly the Underlandians thought their eyes were playing tricks on them, a tree branch whipped around and hit the Granesmrar squarely across his torso.

He unleashed an outraged cry, and flew backwards, away from the offending tree, but then another behind snapped onto his head. A third branch crashed against his wing, pinning him to the trunk. The Granesmrar screeched, his face turning ugly, as he fought furiously to free himself. But strong as he was, the Trees were stronger. The first branch attacked again, hitting his legs and breaking them both. The screams were horrible to hear, but it had the desired effect. The strong claws loosened their grip on Thackery, and gratefully he climbed to the tree and scrambled down it. Mally and the Hatter cheered triumphantly, but the Hatter's was cut off halfway through.

So absorbed had he been in Thackery's plight, and the trees' sudden attack on the Granesmrar, that he had forgotten about the one before him. The first thing he felt was the pain as the creature gripped his wrist tightly, crushing the bones, and then a sharp burning pain as sharp teeth bit into his neck**.** He opened his mouth to scream, but before he could something had knocked the creature aside, and then he was thrown against the ground too. He raised himself up dizzily, and just had time to see the surrounding trees turn on the remaining Granesmrars, and Thackery's concerned face before he passed out.

* * *

A few minutes later the blackness began to clear, and he became aware of a series of sharp, stinging slaps attacking his face. The voices in his head started to argue loudly about who it could be, but before they could reach a conclusion, he opened his eyes to see a half angry, half worried Dormouse standing on his chest. He raised a hand to his face.

'Was that really necessary, Mally?'

'You scared us there!' she snapped defensively. 'I had to make sure you weren't gonna leave us, one way or another.'

'How do you feel?' Chessur interrupted sharply.

'I'm fine, Chessur, I don't know what you're all so worried about,' the Hatter said, attempting to sit up, but as soon as he put weight on his left hand, a stab of pain ran up his arm and he fell back, cursing in Outlandish. Then he noticed that it was tightly bound in strips of cloth, and what looked like tree bark.

'You won't be able to use that for a while,' Chessur said. 'Once we're back in Underland, the Queen will have it fixed and as good as new in a few days, but unfortunately you'll have to bear with it until then.'

The Hatter winced at the steady throbbing of pain. 'Is it broken?'

'Not only broken, but the Granesmrar managed to crush all the bones in your wrist,' Absolem said matter-of-factly. 'Right before he tore open your neck.'

Gingerly, the Hatter touched what felt like a poultice on the side of his neck. As soon as he did, a flash of pain blazed over his skin, and he hastily took his hand away. Then the questions erupted out of him. 'What happened? Where did they all go? How long was I out for? Is Thackery okay? Did- '

'Hatter!' the Dormouse cried. He broke off his ramble, but the questions were still spinning in his head.

'You were only out for a few minutes, and yes he's fine,' Chessur said calmly. Thackery peeped out from where he was hiding behind the Cat and grinned widely at the Hatter.

'As for what happened, the Trees came to your aid,' a deep Voice came, from nowhere it seemed.

'The Trees?'

'Yes, the Trees here talk,' Absolem said impatiently. 'And they are on our side.'

'Did they drive off the Granesmrars?' the Hatter asked in surprise.

'Easily,' Mally confirmed. 'Those miserable _guddlers scuts_ were so caught by surprise they turned tail and ran home. I don't think they'll be coming back.'

'Thank you very much,' Tarrant said politely to the Trees. 'We are greatly in debt to you, and very grateful, although I don't understand why you did it.'

'The Granesmrars are no friends of ours,' another Voice said angrily. 'They are unnatural demons. And you are friends of Alice, and therefore, friends of us.'

'Alice! Have you seen her?' the Hatter asked eagerly, jumping to his feet and ignoring the pain.

'We have not ourselves, but our kindred further south are at this very moment guiding her to the fortress of Karzaron, where she will find the way back to Underland. Do not worry; she is safe while with us.'

Relief flooded over Tarrant, accompanied by a yearning to see her and tell her what he had only just discovered. He felt comforted by the fact that there were no more than a few days between them.

'Is there any way to stop her from entering Karzaron?' Absolem asked urgently. 'We have a potion that will take her back to Underland with us here. That return route would be infinitely less dangerous than attempting to break into Karzaron.'

A flurry of agitated whispers swept through the Trees at his words. 'Indeed,' the first Voice agreed gravely. 'Word is even now being passed southward, where hopefully it will reach Alice before she leaves the protection of the trees. That is all we can do, I'm afraid.'

'Let's hope it's enough,' Mallymkun said solemnly.

'Come! We must be on our way,' Absolem cried, fluttering into the air. 'We must travel south, to meet Alice. It will be two days at the most, until we reach her.'

'Thank heavens for that,' the Hatter attempted his wide grin, but it faltered at the thought of dear Alice at the heart of all evil in Otherland. Then it vanished completely as he stepped forward and for the first time saw the carnage lying in the forest before them.

Close to him lay the body of the first Granesmrar he'd slain; the leader, Rasha. A few paces onward the fierce female lay, her face contorted into a snarl even in death. At least five more lay scattered around, and they all seemed to stare accusingly at him. He choked on the bile rising in his throat, but managed to keep it down. _Murderer!_ His mind screamed at him. _You did this._ Misery gripped him as he realised he was no better than those he despised, and had fought against for years. He had resisted killing Stayne; for Alice mostly, what would she think of him now?

'She'd think you were brave to stand and fight for your friends, and not give up,' a Tree said gently. He hadn't realised he'd been talking out loud, and the orange in his eyes lightened slightly, while his face flushed.

'Do not berate yourself, Tarrant Hightopp,' another whispered soothingly. 'You did what you had to; and you should not feel guilt for taking the lives of these monsters, who should never have existed in the first place.'

'None of us like killing if we can help it, but it is necessary in some situations,' Chessur said gravely. 'Only a Monster is not troubled by the taking of lives.'

Tarrant nodded slowly, feeling slightly better. It had been necessary; like killing Stayne would have unnecessary. The knot of self-loathing and guilt loosened a little, and he managed to push it to the back of his mind. _Alice._ That's what he would concentrate on now.

Mally climbed to her usual spot on his shoulder, careful not to touch the injured side of his neck. Thackery solemnly handed him a teacup, and then they began to make their way through the forest, surrounded by the protective, ever watching Trees.

_I'm coming, Alice. Just wait a little longer. _

* * *

_._


	9. The Protection of the Trees

**Thanks to everyone whos read/reviewed/favourited this :D I LOVE reviews, but you probably all know that by now! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Alice in Wonderland! :'( :'(**

Chapter 9 - The Protection of the Trees

_Alice_

I listened carefully one more time to the Trees' detailed description of the fortress, inside and out. It was _very_ important, they stressed, that I not lose the way, or find myself in the wrong room by accident. One wrong move could easily get me killed.

I fidgeted, eager to be off. I was so close! I was at the edge of the forest, on a little-used dirt track that wound up through the trees, to Karzaron. It was wide enough for two horse and carriages to just about squeeze past each other. The treetops still blocked out my view of the castle, which I was thankful for. It was late in the morning, but the sun was weak and seemed reluctant to shine so close to the fortress. I'd spent the whole of yesterday travelling through the forest, and now, on my fourth day in Otherland, the Trees had assured me that I would reach Karzaron, and so my way home, by nightfall.

'Do you have the potions, Alice?' a large pine tree asked me worriedly.

'Yes,' I confirmed, bringing them out. 'Remind me again why I can't use the Invisibility Potion instead of the Pishalver.'

They sighed. 'If you were invisible, it would be impossible to get through the Gates,' one explained patiently. 'The majority of the King's visitors fly to Karzaron, and land in the courtyard there, so it opens very rarely. Also, Invisibility is the most commonly used thieving, or escaping method, so of course the King has guards for it!'

'What kind of guards?' I asked curiously.

'All-seeing Hounds,' she replied. 'They can't see _through _objects, but they sense when anyone passes them, whether they can see them or not. Their other senses are very good. If no one is there, they will attack anyway. Invisibility does not mean invulnerability.'

'Fine,' I sighed, setting it aside.

'No; keep it with you in case of emergency,' they urged. 'You may as well; but you will have to leave it behind when you drink the Shrinking Potion.'

I put it back in my pocket. 'Is there anything else I need to know?'

'Nothing else you need to know,' a young sapling said.

'But there is something else you need to do,' a fir tree said gravely. 'You are aware that your clothes and your belongings will not shrink with you?'

'I have a little dress ready...but I forgot about my belongings,' I said worriedly. 'I can't just leave them at the Gates! They're all I have left to remember my family by.' To my horror, a tear rose up in my eye and I frantically tried to blink it back.

'Don't worry Alice, we have a solution,' a female Tree said soothingly. 'If you give your belongings to us, we promise to find a way to send them back up to you.'

'Are you sure you'll be able to?' I asked dubiously.

'Trust us, Champion; we won't let you down,' the Trees whispered. 'We give you our word as Underlandians that we will not fail you.'

Who was I to disbelieve the heartfelt word of an Underlandian Tree? 'Thank you,' I replied gratefully, smiling widely at them, as I carefully took my cherished belongings out of my pocket. The letters to my friends in Underland; my watch; my mother's necklace and the photo of my family. As I pulled them out, something else fell with them from my pocket. Bending to pick it up, I realised what it was.

It was the photograph I'd reached out for in the rabbit hole. The one that had caused me to be here. The events of the last few days had pushed it out of my mind, and I realised with a start that I'd never gotten a chance to look at it, and see why I'd grabbed it in the first place. So while the Trees murmured to each other and passed my things away to safety, I stepped out into the light and stared at it.

The first thing I noticed was that the photograph was in colour. Vibrant, vivid, bright colours, so different from the blacks and whites and greys of photographs in England. The second was that the edges on one side were blackened and crisp, as if someone had tried to burn it, once upon a time. It was crumpled and creased, and old. The third thing I noticed was the green-eyed, orange-haired boy in the middle, who was undoubtedly, without a question, my – _the_ Hatter.

He was grinning widely straight at the camera, a top hat on his head and the gap between his teeth evident. His skin was pale, but not as chalky white as when I'd last seen him. Also, there was only a vague hint of the bright circles under and around his eyes. He had no bandages, cuts or stains on his hands yet, and there was no trace of the bad Madness about him. This was Tarrant Hightopp before the mercury began to poison him, and before his world fell to pieces. For a second, I wished I could meet this carefree, innocent young boy.

My eyes drifted to the side of him, and to my surprise, I saw a young Princess Mirana there, smiling sweetly back at me. A little silver crown was perched on her head, and her white curls fell to just below her shoulders, framing her face. I looked at the rest of the picture, and saw a young Thackery grinning goofily, from in front of Mirana and Tarrant. His clothes were scruffy and torn, but his eyes were clear and focused. Now I saw Mallymkun, dressed in boys' clothes, standing before her friends and waving a twig at the camera. And if I looked closely, I could see a pair of green eyes and a faint, but gleaming, wide smile and a wisp of blue smoke hovering over Mirana's head.

It was a beautiful, cheerful picture from happier times, and I was glad to have it. But my eyes were continually drawn back to one person; the unknown boy on Tarrant's other side. They were both laughing, and had their arms thrown over one another's shoulders. They looked to be inseparable. I stared hard at the dark-haired, grinning boy and wondered who he was. I turned over the photograph, looking for a clue, but all that was written was '_The Gang, at Marmoreal_.' Frustrated, I turned it back over. Obviously he had been part of the gang, but I was certain that I had never seen him before, as a grown up. I knew instinctively that he was not the Knave, so who was he? Perhaps I had seen him in the White Queen's court before, but not remembered the face. In the picture, he and Tarrant looked to be about eleven or twelve, possibly thirteen but no older. The Queen looked younger; maybe nine or ten.

But even curiouser, the burnt, blackened side of the photo was the one that he occupied – as if someone had tried to destroy the evidence of him.

_Oh!_ A horrible thought occurred to me. Perhaps – perhaps he had not survived the Horunvendush Day. And someone had tried to destroy this memory of him, to ease their grief. It made sense.

'Alice?'

Quickly I slipped the photograph inside my dress. I couldn't afford to wait until the Trees delivered it to me; I needed to ask Mirana, or Tarrant, about it as soon as I got back. If I folded it up enough, it wouldn't be that much of a burden to carry around. 'I'm ready,' I said resolutely.

'Remember; don't talk to the Trees!' the pine tree cautioned. 'The closer you get to Karzaron, the more likely that they will be spies. If you keep your head down, they'll be less likely to notice you.'

'And try to enter Karzaron at sunset,' the fir tree advised. 'When it's dark enough so that you won't be as easily noticed, but light enough that the creatures have not yet reached their full, night-time strength.'

'I'll try,' I promised. 'Thank you all so much; you've done so much for me and I promise I won't forget it.' Having said this, I quickly stepped out onto the track before my courage could fail me. Before I'd been yearning to go; now I was loath to leave behind these unlikely friends, who I knew I would never see again.

'Once again; Fairfarren Alice of Underland,' they called. 'May you find peace, happiness, and somewhere to call home.'

Blinking back tears, I forced myself to remember those waiting for me, back home, and raised a hand in farewell. Then I took to my heels and raced along the track, dust rising beneath my feet and thoughts of my loved ones occupying my head. Eventually I slowed, but never stopped.

* * *

'_What?'_

The Leader of the Granesmrars stood calmly before the King, unmoving as he raged. His long blonde hair hung limply to his waist, and a gold circlet rested on his brow. One jade-green stone was set in the centre, but apart from that it was plain and unadorned. A larger gold necklace hung around his neck, and he wore ragged, dark trousers that reached to halfway down his calves. His wings were folded neatly on his back and his arms were at his sides. He possessed the strange beauty and skeletal figure typical of his race, and when fully extended, his wingspan measured twelve feet. Unlike many of his race, the Leader had infinite patience, but his rage, when unleashed, was terrible to behold. The King suspected that he was over a hundred years old, but had never dared to ask.

As the King of Otherland paced back and forth, the Leader regarded him with contempt. In his eyes, he was naught but a child, and it grated deeply that _he_ was forced to obey this youngling, who had been on the throne for a mere thirteen years. His own reign had extended for over five times that.

'Well?' the King finally snapped, glaring into the black, shadowed eyes of the Leader. 'Would you like to explain how _five Underlandians_ managed to defeat and drive off over a dozen of your most fearsome warriors? They were outnumbered three to one!'

'They were taken by surprise,' he stated in a deep, gravelly voice.

'_What_ took them by surprise?'

'The Trees. They were aiding the Underlandians.'

'The _Trees!'_ the King exploded.

'Yes, the Trees,' the Leader replied coldly. 'Perhaps your kingdom is not as well ruled as you thought, Talorius.'

Sagredver glared at him. God, he hated the Granesmrars. The mere sight of the Leader, standing so coolly confident in _his_ throne room made his blood boil. And he hated people who made him lose his temper. The Granesmrars filled with him with distaste, almost more than any other creature. Was it too much to ask to don a pair of shoes, or a simple jacket even? _Little better than animals, the barbarians... _

'We have both failed,' the Leader continued, 'so we are equal.'

'No,' the King snarled. 'I was _betrayed._ You and your creatures failed me, Unatu.'

The Leader flinched. How did the youngling know his name? He stood straight and tall, and looked the King right in the eye. Had it not been for the thirteen steps separating them, he would have been a couple of inches taller. 'What do you want of us then, my King?' he hissed. His black eyes flashed and his wings rustled threateningly.

But although the guards situated around the room shuddered, the King stood his ground, staring back at the Leader coldly. 'For now, your people have no purpose,' he stated candidly. 'If the Trees are aiding the Underlandians, your Granesmrars have no chance against them.'

The Leader bowed his head, seething under his emotionless mask. 'You speak the truth. What then is your plan?'

'I will have someone who can be trusted keep an eye on them from above, who will then alert me when they leave the protection of the Trees ,' the King continued. 'Then I shall have need for your creatures.'

'Very well,' the Leader said formally. 'We shall wait and prepare for that time, my King.'

'I wouldn't expect anything else,' the King replied, and his lips curled into a humourless smile. 'I think that is all.'

The Leader spread his wings and bowed low. The King inclined his head in return. 'Until next time, Sagredver,' he murmured as he turned to leave. Two Minotaurs hastened to open the heavy ebony doors.

'I look forward to it, Riortan,' the King called, a cruel grin on his face.

Riortan Unatu froze for an instant, and the desire to rip the youngling's head off gripped him. His lips curled back over his pointed teeth in a snarl, but he made no noise. Instead he spread his powerful wings and leapt into the air, flying through the doors of the throne room, down the stairs and out through the entrance, easily pushing the doors open. Before long, he had vanished from sight.

In the throne room, the King only smirked wider. He so loved unnerving the Leader of the Granesmrars. Then his countenance darkened as he contemplated the Underlandians' newfound strength. If the Trees were aiding them, was it possible they were helping Alice as well? Well, they couldn't hide her forever. He would arrange for someone to track her down as well.

'Kwogedonn!' he snapped.

A small, squat, troll-like creature scuttled forward. Looking at him, Sagredver had to admit he was a strange creature. Kwogedonn's race were all short, round and fat, not usually reaching higher than four feet. He wore a dirty, too-small smock that stretched tightly over his wide belly, and a pair of grubby shorts. He had six fingers on each hand, but his head was the oddest part of all. It was large and ugly. Tiny, useless wings sprouted from the tips of his ears, fluttering as he moved. The brain was clearly visible, as neither bone nor skin covered it. In the King's opinion, he was convinced it was this that had led to the degradation of the race, once nimble, fleet-footed messengers for the monarchs of Underland. That and the bad kind of madness, of course.

'Yes, my Lord!' he panted, gazing devotedly at his King, his master. For however stupid, slow, and foolish Kwogedonn was, he was without a doubt, faithful and completely, utterly loyal to his one master.

'I need two Kiarkaris here, immediately,' the King ordered. 'The best air trackers we have, that are available to go today.'

'Of course, your Excellency,' Kwogedonn promised, and bowed low several times before hurrying out of the room.

The king dismissed the extra guards sent in for the Granesmrar's meeting, and sat back in his throne. As he waited for the Kiarkaris to arrive, he traced the white scar on his wrist that marked their first meeting, and wondered just how long it would be until either he or Unatu of the Granesmrars lay dead by the other's hand.

* * *

'_No!'_

The soft, but pained, cry of the Trees brought the Underlandians to a halt.

'What is it?' the Hatter asked urgently.

'It's Alice,' a gentle Voice whispered. Fear gripped their hearts, as they waited anxiously for her to continue. But she said nothing more.

'What happened to Alice?' Chessur demanded, fur rising in annoyance.

In what little light from the midday sun there was streaming through the tree tops, they saw the Trees shudder simultaneously, and the incomprehensible whispers increased.

'Our message was too late,' a distant fir said mournfully.

'She has left the protection of the Trees,' an old, deep voice rumbled. 'The Champion is on her way to Karzaron. And we cannot stop her.'

* * *

**I know they didnt have colour photographs in this time period, but I thought it would fit, since its Underland :)**

**xxx**


	10. Karzaron

**Sorry its really late :S I had major writers block for this chapter, & I was reunited with Naomily4EVA last week after a whole summer apart! So yeah we had a LOT of catching up to do! :P I'd recommend reading her story 'Lost in Wonderland', its really good, & sadly will be finishing soon :'( she's on my fav authors!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything!**

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Chapter 10 – Karzaron

_Alice_

The gates of Karzaron rose up before me; great, foreboding, and seemingly impenetrable. Various complicated locks ran down the length of where the two black gates met, and two black hooded figures paced back and forth before them. They stood over four metres high, as did the thick stone walls. And in the creeping darkness, I could just about make out a few black shapes silently circling overhead.

There was thankfully no moat, no disgusting lake of floating heads. I scanned the bottom of the wall, and soon found a few different-sized cracks, ranging from two inches to six.

Cautiously, from behind the large boulder I was crouching behind, I took out the Shrinking potion and took a small sip, as I had no idea how much I would need. I coughed at the slimy, vile-tasting liquid, and almost immediately felt myself getting smaller. I took another larger drink, and continued to shrink. Finally, I stopped. Stepping out from under my oversized clothes, I hastily found and put on the miniature dress I'd made from scraps of my normal sized dress. It nowhere near as pretty, or as comfortable as the one the Hatter had made me when I'd shrunk in Underland, but it would do for now. I silently thanked my mother for forcing me to practice sewing at least twice a week.

I was smaller than I'd ever been in Underland; perhaps three, four inches tall? At any rate, I soon realized that it would be _very_ hard to carry around the photograph of my friends and the one unknown at my tiny size, harder than I'd thought. Then I had an idea.

'Maybe, just maybe…' I murmured, then glanced around to make sure that no one had noticed me, before curiously pouring a little of the peculiar Shrinking potion onto the photograph. I watched in amazement as it shuddered once, and then shrunk to the size of an apple seed! This Shrinking potion was definitely not the same as Pishalver.

Filled with excitement, I pocketed the photograph easily and then poured more of the potion over my boots. The scraps of material I'd wrapped around my feet were a poor substitute for shoes.

I was just putting them on when a piercing shriek echoed from inside the castle walls and yet another winged creature took off into the skies. My heart froze as I remembered the angry deer-monster I'd encountered in the woods that first night. My memory was blurry, and the sight before me was dimly lit, but I couldn't shake off the possibility that they might be the same kind of creature. So abandoning the rest of the potion, I sprinted to the shadow of the wall and huddled against it. The guards didn't bat an eyelash. I hastily pulled myself up to the nearest crack, a couple of inches above ground level and slipped through, landing easily on the other side.

I gasped at the sight.

Spikes. A whole forest of hard spikes, as thick as a man's finger, but tapering to a needle-sharp point. They rose up above me, blocking my vision of the fortress and its guards. Anyone who attempted to walk across them would instantly have their feet ripped to shreds**. **I shivered at the thought.

But as I gingerly reached out and touched one of them, I realised with delight that they posed no threat to me. Walking over them was deadly, but walking amongst them? For someone of my current size, it was a piece of cake.

_Muchness, Alice!_ With that thought echoing in my head, I hurried forward through the lethal forest of spikes, moving past them effortlessly. Some bunched together tightly, while others had a couple of inches between them. It might only have been 25m long, but the whole journey took me about twenty minutes.

And when I reached the last few rows of spikes, I finally saw the fortress standing imposingly before me, shocking me into silence.

* * *

A few moments later, I gathered my courage and muchness again, and hesitantly peeked out of the spikes searching for guards and other obstacles. The winged creatures still patrolled overhead, and a few squat, short creatures paced in front of the huge wooden doors, painted ebony black to match the dark stone. One creature passed underneath a lantern, and for a second its ugly squashed face was lit up. Two tusks extended from its mouth, and its bulbous grey eyes were glaring balefully out from under its hood. I automatically recoiled, and then continued to look around. The walls of the castle were only five metres away, and I knew if I was fast, I could cover that without the angry trolls catching me. My way in was directly in front of me.

A long battleaxe stood propped against a windowsill in front of me. The wooden handle was covered with many tiny marks and scratches, as if it had been attacked many times in battle. These marks would provide the perfect handholds.

I took a deep breath and as soon as the trolls were facing the other way, took my chance. No one noticed as I raced across the uneven courtyard stones and hauled myself up onto the axe. The axe handle was at an angle, making it easier for me to half run, half climb up it. It was a long, arduous process and by the time I reached the windowsill, I was gasping for breath.

I heard the entrance doors creak open, and the front of the castle was suddenly lit up by lamps in the entrance hall. Now I could see that the spikes extended out from the wall all around the front of the castle, save for a smooth path leading from the Gates, which widened into a small courtyard before the doors. It was unadorned by fountains, or tasteful plants, unlike the courtyards back in England. Then my attention was drawn back to the doors, as I saw the reason for them being opened. Several men stepped out into the courtyard, each leading a large, dog-shaped beast._ The All-seeing Hounds!_ I thought excitedly. I was lucky enough to have just missed them. They growled and slavered at the ends if their ropes, and as soon as they were freed dutifully began to pace along the path leading to the Gates. I shuddered at the sight, before turning my attention back to the window, which was a wooden sash window, like the ones in my mother's home.

Looking into it, I saw to my surprise an elegant dining room, brightly lit by lamps and furnished mainly with a large wooden table and at least a dozen mahogany dining chairs arranged around it. Paintings and ornaments decorated the large room, while a heavy rug covered the majority of the cold stone floor. Heavy curtains hung at the sides of the windows, undrawn as of yet. As I watched, a flustered young girl a few years younger than me entered the room and began setting the table. An older man followed her and began to light the fire on the far side of the room. Another girl then entered with delicate china plates, and began to carefully set them out.

'Tell the guards to keep the Hounds quiet for his Majesty's dinner!' the man hissed at one of the girls, as he lit the first of the various candlesticks positioned around the room. She nodded, and to my horror, hastened to the window where I sat looking in.

But I needn't have worried, for the girl paid no attention to me as she heaved open the heavy window and called out to the guards. They assured her quickly that they would do their best, and satisfied by their answer, she pushed down the window and firmly locked it, by which time I was safely inside and hiding behind a chair leg.

Half an hour later, the servants finally left the dining room. I quickly made my way through the room to the door, staying close to potential hiding-places. Thankfully, the servants had left the door slightly ajar.

The door led to what was clearly the entrance hall. Candles in brackets lit it up and a great chandelier hung in the middle of the ceiling, but it was deserted. Curiously, all the doors to the right of the entrance doors (including the dining room door) were a dark, handsome oak, while the ones on the left were dark, ugly, and plain, contrasting starkly to the elegance and richness of the others. Shivering, I turned my attention to the grand, red-carpeted staircase opposite the doors. The Trees had told me that the Mirror stood in the King's private chambers, which were at the top of a tower and reached by a spiral staircase, which was only accessible from a narrow passage leading from the King's throne room; which in turn was on the first floor of the castle, and directly in front of the stairs. Meaning, I had to climb this huge, majestic staircase at my current height. Sighing, I got to work.

Each stair was a little smaller than me, but it was still hard work, continuously hauling myself up, over and over again. Once, I was on the 11th step, when a servant came running out of one of the doors on the left brandishing a duster and broom, and sprinted up the stairs. So intent was she on her task, she didn't notice me crouching next to one of the banisters. It seemed that all the servants in Karzaron were much too diligent and hard-working to pay attention to their surroundings. Or too terrified.

As I climbed on, getting closer and closer to my future home, for the first time a seed of doubt planted itself in my head. What if Underland – and its inhabitants – _weren't_ pleased to have me back? What if, now I had slain the Jabberwocky, I was no longer welcome? But as these unwelcome thoughts came creeping further into my head, I forced myself to remember Absolem's words and the look on the Hatter's face as I drank the Jabberwocky blood. Absolem _had_ said they missed me…and I couldn't have imagined that amount of pain and sadness on someone's face. I couldn't have imagined that someone I'd only known for a few days could feel _that_ amount of pain and sadness when I left. That I'd have that effect on anyone.

The guilt resurfaced, and I forced myself to return to the task at hand. I was trying to return, wasn't I? I was doing the best I could to reverse the damage done on Frabjous Day. And more. I wasn't going to even start to forgive myself until I saw the Hatter dance the Futterwacken; the dance of unbridled joy, again. That memory had been one of the first to return, and I had smiled at it many times before I had fully understood who the man doing it was, and _why_ he was doing it.

Finally, eventually, at last, arms aching, feet weary, I pulled myself up onto the twenty-first step. I sat there for a few moments, catching my breath, and would have stayed for a few more, had not the tall doors directly opposite me opened at that very moment. Seizing the opportunity, I ran forward, dodging the feet of a strange, small, troll-like creature with wings extending from its ears. A chair was positioned a few feet away from the entrance, and I lost no time in hiding behind one of the back legs, in shadow. From that relatively safe place, I looked out onto the infamous throne room.

One of the Trees had told me it was an impressive sight, and added that I was very lucky indeed to have the chance to enter and see it in its glory, and survive. Hardly encouraging. But I didn't look at the mysterious, tall, black doors situated at regular intervals in the walls, or the grand, beautifully carved pillars positioned all around, nor even the thirteen steps, one for each year of his reign, rising up to where the King's black throne sat, each marble with a golden edge. Instead I stared at the tall dark man standing on the floor before the stairs and wearing the crown, and the creature he was talking to.

He looked more…normal, than I expected. He was wearing expensive-looking clothes, like the ones wealthy gentlemen wore in England, and had short dark hair and a dark, neatly-trimmed beard. He wore a single heavy gold ring on his left middle finger and a little gold earring hung in his left ear. His only other jewellery was the gold crown on his head. It was plain, apart from a ring of green emeralds around its base and looked to be pure gold, but he wore it with ease, and showed no signs of discomfort.

As for the creature, it was none other than one of the deer-monsters I feared. The King was tall, but it towered above him, its great antlers rising higher still. Its great wings were neatly tucked against its body, and like the first one I'd seen, it had sixteen sharp tines rising up from its head. I noticed how the guards seemed to be edging as far away from it as they could. The creature stood tall and proud, no sign of fear showing in his stature. An aura of menace and danger surrounded the pair, as they stood together in the middle of the throne room, each showing no signs of attacking the other. I strained to hear what they were saying.

'Have you had any news from the search party yet?' the King asked.

'The air trackers have found the Underlandians,' the deer-monster replied calmly.'They sent back the messenger an hour ago with the news. They promised to stay with them and let you know as soon as they leave the woods.'

'Thank you, Kiar,' the King said, a cruel smile appearing on his face. 'I think I shall include a few Kiarkaris in the attack on them. Perhaps you and I shall even go and slay a couple of that scum ourselves.'

The deer-monster, apparently called Kiar, laughed. 'I think I'd enjoy that, my King. And you're right to do that – those Granesmrars can't be trusted.'

'And your kind can?' the King asked, raising an eyebrow.

'Of course!' Kiar cried, a look of outrage on his face. 'More than that slurking urpal slackush scrum of a race!' He quickly stopped, looking vaguely uncomfortable, as if he'd remembered he was with the King. I stared at him, taken aback. I hadn't expected to hear Outlandish here, at all. But remembering what the Trees had told me about the creation of Otherland, I supposed it made sense. Pulling my attention back to the King and Kiar, I saw that the King had an unreadable expression on his face, and Kiar was now looking _very_ uncomfortable. It was deadly quiet, as we all held our breath and waited for the King's response.

Finally he broke it, laughing with his eyes as well as his mouth. In that moment, one could almost forget he was King of Otherland. 'Do not worry yourself, Kiar; I don't doubt the Kiarkaris' loyalty. I would never think ill of your race like that, you are all far too noble, and so could never be compared to the Granesmrars. However '– and his face turned stern – 'I must ask you to refrain from using Outlandish, not for the first time. We need not share more than one language with the Underlandians.'

'I'm sorry,' Kiar murmured respectfully, although I sensed that he was biting his tongue and not saying what he really wanted to. I noticed now that he looked quite young – younger than the other Kiarkaris I'd seen but still full-grown. 'May I ask about the_ other _search party?'

The King nodded, and their voices dropped, so that neither I nor any of the other guards could hear what they were saying. Although judging from the way they were now edging subtly forward, they wanted to. When I was certain that everyone was focused on the intent conversation between the King and Kiar, I began to quietly, stealthily, make my way along the wall towards the farthest door on the right which led to the King's chambers – and my way home. There were no other chairs, so I hid behind each pillar as I passed it. The guards were now all standing on the other sides of the pillars, the side visible to the King, and no one was looking out for a tiny girl running across the marble floor.

'_Stop!'_

I froze where I had been running, exposed between two of the great pillars. Slowly I turned my head to see that silence had fallen after the Kiarkaris' sudden shout, and that all eyes were now on him, including the King's. He inhaled deeply and pricked up his ears. I looked longingly at the nearest pillar, beside which stood the door I needed. It was so close! Holding my breath, I took another step forward – and immediately Kiar's head whipped around and his purple eyes bored into mine. I just had time to wonder why they weren't red like the rest before all the other pairs of eyes in the room were on me, and my heart rate increased tenfold. And suddenly I was staring straight into the King's cold dark eyes, and I couldn't move, as terror gripped me. It was only when one of the nearby guards took a lumbering step forward that I was jolted back to my senses, and without further ado sprinted to the next pillar, searching in vain for an escape route. All the doors were locked. I dashed to the correct door and tried to tug it open, a hopeless task. I gave up as the guard neared me, and took off, running anywhere, only wanting to get away from them.

The King seemed to be watching in amusement as three of the nearest guards tried to corner me while the others hesitated, unsure of what to do. 'Get her,' he ordered calmly, and instantly I was running for my life from a dozen troll-like creatures. But I couldn't run forever, and finally one made a grab for me, squeezing me tightly as I struggled and attempted to push his fat fingers away. He raised me up to his ugly face, leering and grinning at me, and I angrily responded by biting down on his hand. He didn't drop me, to my disappointment, but his face grew even uglier, and he glared at me in disgust as he carried me over to the King. I glared back, observing that he was one of the bizarre creatures with wings on their ears.

'Here you go, my Lord,' he bowed smarmily to the King, before presenting me to the King, careful to keep his tight grip.

'Well done, Kwogedonn,' the King said, lips curling into a smile. 'My my, she's vicious, isn't she?'

He grunted as I bit him again, and scraped at his six-fingered hand with my nails. 'Aye my Lord, that she is. May I ask your Excellency who she is?'

'Why, Kwogedonn, I'm surprised you haven't guessed already,' the King smirked. I felt his eyes on me as he said, loud and clear; 'This is none other than the Champion of Underland herself; the great Alice Kingsley.'

_How did he know who I am_? I thought frantically, and began to struggle even harder than before.

The ugly creature looked at me dubiously. 'Begging your pardon, my Lord, but she's very small.'

'We'll ask her why that is later,' the King said, his smile disappearing. 'For now, she's getting to be a bit of a nuisance. Put her out, will you?'

'As you wish, sir.' Before I could protest, his large, clumsy finger was pressed against the side of my neck, and the last thing I saw before passed out was the King staring at me with his cold, calculating black eyes.

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**Hope it was worth the wait! **

**:) xxx**


	11. Prisoner

**...I'm so so sorry its so late :( I honestly didnt mean for this to take so long! But school started a couple of weeks ago &immediately the homeworks started piling up, it was horrible *shudders* Naomily4EVA will back me up! School has a way of killing inspiration too! I can't promise regular updates from now on, but I'll try my best, &I definitely won't abandon this story!**

**I think I've been saying Kingsley instead of Kingsleigh :S I'm sorry about that, I'll try to get it right from now on!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Alice in Wonderland, only my OCs!**

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Chapter 11 – Prisoner

_Alice_

When I awoke, I was found myself lying on a thin bed of straw in a cold, barred cell. I sat up, stiff and sore from lying on the hard floor, and feeling dizzy and disorientated. Five seconds later, I remembered what had happened and where I must be. I groaned and buried my head in my hands. How the hell was I going to get out of this mess?

And then I realised that I was still in the dress I'd been wearing when I was small. Meaning I was still weak, helpless, and trapped in what I now saw was a birdcage. Looking around, I saw that I was on a plain table, in the middle of the dank, cold cell. It was empty and grey, and had only one tiny window high up on the back wall, and one door opposite me. I was alone in the room, but that didn't change much; the cage was securely locked, as was the window and door undoubtedly. The metal bars of the cage were too close together for me to squeeze through me, no matter how hard I tried. Finally, I sat back down again, tired and frustrated from wrestling with the bars and the tiny cage door. Then a new problem occurred to me. The Shrinking potion didn't last forever – only for around six hours, it had said. After that time, I would grow to my normal size again, and how was I supposed to fit into the birdcage then; never mind my clothes! I blushed crimson at the thought. There were no bushes to hide behind here, unlike in the Red Queen's gardens. There was _nothing_, not even a curtain. I could only hope I escaped, or was moved to a new room before then.

I pulled up my legs and rested my head and arms on my knees, trying to think of a way out. But as I sat there puzzling, nothing possible came to mind, and I only sank deeper into despair.

I was roused from my dark thoughts by the unmistakeable clanking of a key in the lock, followed by a click as the lock snapped open, and the heavy door creaked open. Two troll guards came in first, followed by the King himself, the ugly creature called Kwogedonn who'd captured me, Kiar, and two other men who could be Lords, or Earls, of the Court.

I glared at them all as they entered, but only the guards glared back. The high-class gentlemen looked at me curiously, as did Kiar, and Kwogedonn grinned widely at me. The King just seemed amused by my anger.

'How is the Champion?' he asked in a mocking tone, smiling back at me.

'Let me go!' I spat.

He shook his head. 'I'm sorry Alice, but I cannot do that. You are of no use to me in Underland; I need you here if I'm going to benefit from your arrival at all.'

'How did you know who I was? What are you using me for? What are you planning?'

'Tsk tsk, Alice. I knew you were curious, but one question at a time please. I know who you are because _everyone_ knows who you are, and I heard the news from a reliable source that you had come to my kingdom. Welcome to Otherland, may I add.'

He continued to smile courteously at me, but I was still suspicious, and didn't drop my glare as I waited for him to resume.

'And as for my plans, I'm afraid I can't reveal them to you just yet. That would ruin everything, and we can't have that now, can we? Not when everything is going so beautifully. But anyway; back to business.' Suddenly he was cold and brisk again, his welcoming facade brushed away, and I blinked in surprise. 'I assume that that is not your usual size?' I remained stubbornly silent.

He sighed lightly. 'It would be better for you if you answered my question, Miss Kingsleigh.' I said nothing. Then he said quietly, his black eyes not leaving mine; 'Kwogedonn?'

That weird creature stepped forward, his grin revealing broken and misshapen yellow teeth. I watched warily as he stopped beside my cage, and then suddenly, thrust a red-hot poker through the bars of the cage. I had no time or space to dodge it, and I yelped and jumped as it burned my bare skin. He held it against my skin for less than a second, but when he took it away, a large red mark was already spreading across my upper arm. I clamped my mouth shut, determined to not voice the searing pain, and give them the satisfaction they wanted.

'Let me ask you again, Miss Kingsleigh,' the King asked quietly. 'Is that your usual size?'

'_No_,' I hissed through clenched teeth.

'How did you get so small then?'

I thought about not answering, but then I saw Kwogedonn hovering close by, the poker still in his hand, and decided against it. 'I took a potion.'

'How did you get it?'

'I took it.'

'From where?'

'Does it matter?'

His mouth twitched into a smile. 'You're right. That's not important. When did you take this potion?'

'I don't know; how long was I unconscious for?'

'Almost two hours.'

'Then about three or four hours ago.'

'Hmm.'

He was silent for a time, and then one of the Lords took his chance and stepped forward. 'What is your purpose here, Alice Kingsleigh?'

'To leave.'

'No need to be so rude,' the King said, suddenly emerging from his thoughts. 'I would have thought any young woman raised in Upperland would have learned manners.'

'Some people don't deserve manners,' I replied icily.

His eyes flashed, but his voice remained quiet and level. 'I'll overlook that for now. Tell us why you came to Otherland, and perhaps we will let you go.'

'I didn't mean to!' I shouted angrily.

'Ah,' he sighed. 'So you meant to return to your beloved – what did you call it again? Oh yes – _Wonderland?_ And instead you ended up here. It must have been quite a shock for you. But unfortunately, it is not as easy to leave Otherland as it is to enter it. We have quite a complicated system here.' The others chuckled, and it didn't take me long to guess that is wasn't complicated at all. 'Now, Alice, there was a purpose to asking you about the potion. How long will it be, before the magic of the potion leaves you?'

'It only lasts for six hours.'

'Excellent. We have at least an hour then!'

'What do you mean by that?' I cried, fear gripping me. 'What are you going to do?'

'Now, now, calm yourself down, Miss Kingsleigh. Getting yourself all worked up won't solve anything, you know. I'm sure your mother's told you that before.' I glared back into those patronising black eyes. 'Guards, get the cage,' he ordered abruptly, before marching out of the room. The two men followed him, as did Kwogedonn, and one of the guards lifted my cage off the table. Kiar lingered behind, his purple eyes gazing steadily into mine.

'You're brave to stand up to him,' he told me quietly. 'Not many people do.'

'Thank you,' I stammered, surprised. He nodded gravely, before backing out of the room and vanishing into the corridor. I stared after him, wondering again why his eyes were purple.

'Sorry Miss Alice, you're not allowed to see the way out,' the guard holding me mumbled, and I didn't have a chance to protest before a heavy cloth was thrown over my head and I was plunged into darkness.

* * *

Many bumps, jerks and jolts later, the cloth was removed, and I found myself near on a table in an elegant, well-furnished room that would have fitted as a parlour in the fashionable part of London. The birdcage was still locked, and after the guard who'd been carrying me left hastily, I was again alone.

As there was nothing to see, I closed my eyes and concentrated on _listening_ instead. At first all I heard was the random, uncoordinated ticking of an ornate gold clock, and the steady pattering of rain against the windows, but as Time passed, I began to pick up sounds in the hall too; someone running hurriedly along the corridor, heavy footsteps coming down the stairs, a harsh reprimand in a deep, growling voice, a plate breaking. After what could have been hours, or maybe just minutes, I heard what sounded like a large group of people walking down the corridor, laughing and chattering loudly. I heard the rustle of skirts and the flirtatious giggles of young women, and then the smart tapping of boots and proud, haughty voicesof distinguished young gentlemen. They got closer and closer until they stopped outside the door. I heard the fumbling of the key in the lock, and then with a bow and a flourish, a footman opened the doors wide and stepped aside to make room for the guests.

Six or so beautiful ladies immediately crowded into the room, followed by several gentlemen, including of course, the King. I glowered at him angrily, but he hardly seemed to notice.

'What did you want to show us, my King?' one woman my age wearing a scarlet red dress asked, batting her eyelashes at him, but looking a little impatient.

'Ah yes,' he broke off his conversation with one of the ladies, and stepped in front of me. 'I have something that I thought would be of amusement to you ladies – and gentlemen as well.'

'Do tell us, Talorius!' a lady in a horrible purple and green concoction called out.

He grinned. 'Friends, allow me to introduce, none other than Alice Kingsleigh – Champion of Underland!' Saying this, he stepped aside and swept a hand towards me in a dramatic gesture.

'Ooh!' Immediately a group of ladies clustered around my cage, trying to get a better look. Some of the gentlemen came forward as well, eager to see me. But a few of the ladies jumped back, shrieking with horror, as if I was a mouse! Then I remembered that this _had_ been part of Underland, and if all mice were like Mallymkun, they had a reason to be scared. I recognized the two gentlemen who'd accompanied the King to the cell – I refused to think of it as _my_ cell – standing amongst the gentlemen at the far end of the room.

'She's so little!' one of them cooed, and I tried to ignore her finger, which she was now waving at me through the bars. I knew if Mally had been in my position, she would have bitten it by now.

'Are you sure she's_ the_ Alice?' the scarlet dress lady asked doubtfully.

'She's awfully small,' a lady in black silk commented.

The King let out a theatrical sigh. 'Ladies, I assure you that this_ is_ the Alice, who slew the Jabberwocky in Underland.'

'Terrible business, that,' one stout gentleman said, shaking his head emphatically. 'Just terrible.'

'I know; the poor darling Jabberwocky!' one of the ladies cried, dabbing her eyes with an embroidered handkerchief.

'My father advised him not to set foot in Underland,' one of the gentlemen by my cage said solemnly. He looked to be in his mid-thirties, and was tall and lean with light brown longish hair. 'I am only glad that my dear father passed away before the news of the Jabberwock's demise reached him. Sadly, I have no memories of that great beast.'

'Your father was a wise man, Lord Rothgram,' one of the men from the cell said. 'If only the Jabberwocky had listened to him!' Lord Rothgram nodded gravely in reply, and there was a moment of silence, for the Jabberwocky I presumed. I stood awkwardly, hoping they'd forgotten that I'd been the one to slay it. Had I not been at a great disadvantage, in both numbers and size, I would have said something to them. Instead I did the sensible thing and held my tongue.

'It's hard to believe such a tiny thing could harm such a great creature,' a pretty girl, a few years younger than me, said thoughtfully.

The King sighed, in irritation this time. 'She wasn't this size when she fought it, Miss Serise. She took a potion to become this size.'

'Of course, my King,' Miss Serise said demurely, bowing her head. I rolled my eyes. Were these girls exactly like the ones I'd left behind in Upperland?

'Can she talk?' an older looking Lady asked suddenly.

'Yes,' I answered for him, and was rewarded by a collection of gasps and nervous laughs.

'H-How do you do?' one young girl asked, faltering as everyone's eyes turned to hers, in shock, disbelief or disgust.

'I'm not very well,' I replied truthfully. 'I don't like being kept locked up in a cage when I've done nothing wrong. I'm sure you wouldn't like it either.'

'No I wouldn't,' she admitted, earning herself a reproving glare from two other ladies, who looked like her mother and her sister.

'What do you want here?' the stout gentleman asked brusquely.

'Nothing,' I said honestly. 'Just to leave, and never return. I don't mean your land any harm; I just want to leave.'

Several of the guests looked surprised at this, some looked disbelieving, while a few looked confused, and I saw them send questioning looks to the King. He saw these too, and it worried him.

Abruptly, he strode forward to my cage, and rested an arm on it. 'Can't believe anything these Underlandians say,' he said pleasantly, with a wink. 'Devious commoners, all of them.'

The guests looked relieved at this, and seemed happy to forget the disturbing thoughts of my innocence. Shortly afterwards, a game of whist was suggested, and so passed the rest of the evening. As Time wore on, I grew more and more restless, for I knew the potion wouldn't last forever, and I dreaded the idea of growing in front of all these people.

At long last, they began to say their goodbyes, and make their way out. But as the stout gentleman shook the King's hand firmly, he leaned close and said quietly; 'May I enquire as to why the murderer of the Jabberwocky is alive and well, in your hands?' I shivered at his words, and strained to hear the answer. They were standing near the birdcage, and only I could overhear their conversation. The rest of the party had either already gone or were by the door laughing and conversing.

The King smiled a cruel, humourless smile. 'My dear Hygar, I assure you that there is a purpose to her being still alive. At the present, Alice Kingsleigh is more use to me alive than dead. Do not worry my friend; she shall be punished for her crimes against Otherland.'

At that moment, a troll guard came forward with the cloth, to bring me back to the cell. Before the darkness once again consumed me, I saw the King staring straight at me, his smile still on his lips, and I knew that he had intended for me to hear every last word.

* * *

The White Queen paced back and forth in her throne room**, **on the raised dais. She spun around as soon as she heard footsteps, and her face lit up when she saw the White Rabbit hopping towards her.

'Is there any news, McTwisp?' she asked hopefully.

He shook his head. 'I'm sorry, Mirana. No word from them yet.' She sighed sadly. 'It's only been a few days,' he said, attempting to comfort her.

'How can I not be worried?' she asked restlessly. 'My dearest friends have gone to an unknown, dangerous world, and I cannot help them. And our Champion, on the verge of being returned to us, is lost also, and how am I know if they have found each other yet, or ever will?'

'I – I don't know, your Majesty,' Nivens said hesitantly. Then he perked up. 'Absolem's with them, Mirana. He knows his way around Otherland; I'm sure he'll find her. And I don't think the Hatter would let a little thing like Otherland stand between him and Alice.'

The Queen chuckled, a little darkly he thought. 'No, McTwisp, I don't think he would.' Standing up again, she wandered over to where the Champion's armour stood, and gently ran her hand over the smooth blade.

Ten minutes later, the Rabbit spoke again. 'Your Majesty, it is time to check the Oraculum.' She nodded. And together they made their way to her bedchambers where the Oraculum was being kept. The Queen unlocked the doors quickly and then stepped inside.

The Oraculum sat upright on a wooden stand, the moonlight casting an eerie glow on it. Mirana unrolled it carefully, while Nivens hopped upon a chair so he could see it too. It opened on that very day, showing Mirana and McTwisp talking in the throne room, as they had been scarcely five minutes before. The next day showed Mirana talking to the Trees and the one after showed the Dodo beating McTwisp at chess.

'Impossible!' the Rabbit huffed. He waited for Mirana to say the inevitable words, but she was staring past him, her mind far away, buried amongst distant memories. 'Mirana?' he asked softly, lightly touching her hand.

She came back to herself with a start, and then turned to smile at McTwisp. 'So sorry, Nivens. I was distracted.'

'It's fine, your Majesty. But it is late, and I should be going.'

'Of course. Fairfarren, Nivens.'

'Fairfarren, Mirana.'

He closed the door gently behind him, and Mirana, after debating for a second, decided that she did not want to go to bed just yet and instead crossed over to the balcony. There she stood for a long time, drinking into the sights and souls of her peaceful kingdom. She did not know that at that very moment, her sworn enemy the King of Otherland was doing exactly the same thing.


	12. The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend

**Yay, my longest chapter so far! :) Once again, sorry for the long wait, I will try to get it up sooner! Oh btw I'm not sure if I've said this before, but Kwogedonn is dedicated to my younger sister Molly and belongs to him! She helped me come up with him and his name :D **

**My friend Xiao keeps saying I should do a copyright thingy, so here goes: The plot, Otherland and OCs belong to me, so its not ok for people to use them without my permission :P I don't really see why thats necessary, but ah well...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Alice in Wonderland! :'(**

* * *

Chapter 12- The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend

_Alice_

The heavy door opened, and one of the troll guards hurried in. They shoved a tray of food through the bars of my cell, spilling half of the contents in the process, before hurrying back out. Another came in and thrust one at an angry, muttering goblin-creature a few cells down from me. He threw it against the wall, and glared balefully at the guard as he exited. Quietly, I picked up my tray and some of the food that had spilt, and went back over to sit on my hard bed. The food was tasteless and bland but I was used to it by now, and anyway I was too hungry to care.

When I'd finished, I took my hunk of uneaten bread and tossed it down the corridor to the goblin. Grudgingly, he took it and nodded at me. It had become a routine. We never spoke, although we were the only creatures who'd survived the past week. The others had all been dragged away, screaming horribly. I'd gathered that the King suspected him of being a spy and a traitor, and wanted information from him. But he refused to give it, and the guards were baffled as to why he hadn't dropped dead out of hunger yet.

A few minutes later, a human guard entered, and settled down to watch us both. Silence fell in the cells, and I curled up on my bunk, wondering for the millionth time when I would get out, if ever. When the guard had brought me back to the empty room, he had taken me out of the birdcage and set me on the table, while another had brought in a dress for me, to my surprise. Half an hour later, the potion had worn off and I grew back to my normal size, along with my boots and the photograph. The next morning, they took me to the cell where I'd remained for the past week, devoid of human contact.

The King had come to visit me on the day I got my new cell. Closing my eyes, I rewound to that scene.

*Flashback*

_The King stood outside the bars, smiling pleasantly at me. 'How do you like your new accommodation?'_

_I shrugged. 'It's a metal cage; how can I like it?'_

'_True,' he admitted, still smiling. 'But this is quite a big cell, and well-lit. It's close to the entrance too, so you will get your meals first.'_

'_Must I thank you for that?' I asked resentfully. _

'_It would be polite,' he replied with a shrug, moving away from the bars. He turned to some of the other prisoners, and questioned them, before turning to leave. Before he did, he addressed me again. 'Miss Kingsleigh, I have given orders that every two days you shall have access to have a bathroom where you may wash and clean yourself.'_

_I stared at him, taken aback. 'W-Why?' I finally said. 'Not just the bathroom – why did you give me a dress and a "nice" cell as well?'_

_He sighed, then stepped closer to the bars and beckoned me forwards. Hesitantly, I walked over to where he stood. He leaned close, and whispered quietly; 'Miss Kingsleigh, I may be a tyrant king, your enemy, and someone to be feared, but I am and always was, a gentleman first and foremost. You may hold me to that, if nothing else.' Then he whirled around, and was gone. I stared after him, open-mouthed in bewilderment. _

*End Flashback*

And he'd been true to his word. Every two days a guard would appear to escort me to the bathroom, and two maids stayed in with me to make sure I didn't escape. A couple of days ago, I'd even received a new dress. Like the first one, the main colour was black, but this one had purple trimmings, and shades to it. I much preferred it to the other one.

The door swung open again, and I grinned, sitting upright. 'Kiar!'

The great Kiarkaris dipped his head in greeting and lay down beside the bars of my cell. The guard seemed about to protest – he was new – but Kiar narrowed his deep plum-coloured eyes at him, and he fell silent, acknowledging the threat and sitting down with his back to us. Then my friend turned his attention back to me.

We had become friends, on the second day in my new prison. He had come down to the dungeons, and stood staring at me, until I had finally snapped and asked him what he wanted.

He had frowned and looked at me hard with his bright, inquisitive eyes, evidently confused how to respond; as if no one had ever asked him that before. 'I want to learn, and to understand,' was the slow answer.

Now it was my turn to frown. 'Then why are you here?' I had asked, my anger slowly fading.

'For the reasons I just said,' he had replied. 'I want to learn. I want to learn about Underland.'

My jaw had dropped, and I'd stared at him with surprise, expecting it to be a joke of some kind, the King's orders no doubt. But as he remained calmly before my cell, I had realised with a jolt that he was serious. 'I don't know that much about Underland,' I'd admitted humbly.

His gaze was unflinching. 'You know more than I do.'

And so, our strange friendship had been born, and only grew stronger since then. Kiar was both a good listener, and a clever storyteller. I'd told him everything I knew or could remember about Underland, and slaying the Jabberwocky, and in turn he'd told me about Otherland, and his race; the Kiarkaris. From him, I'd learnt that the King's full name was Sagredver Talorius, and that he'd been on the throne for thirteen years, which was a lucky number in Otherland. Because of that, this year was expected to be a good one, for the kingdom and for his rule. He was loved and feared equally by the citizens of Otherland, although he had not been the natural heir. In fact, he'd only come to the people's notice sixteen years ago when he had risen quickly through the ranks of the army, impressing many, and had become the old king's favourite, soon displacing his son as heir. The King had seen a lot of himself in the young Sagredver, and preferred him to his biological son Fenardo, who was kind, generous and completely unsuited to maintaining the terror state of Otherland. When the old king had died and Sagredver was crowned, Fenardo had been sent off on a quest, to certain Doom everyone said. Most people thought of it as a tragic accident that could not be helped, when he was attacked by Granesmrars. It was a fact of life in Otherland; Granesmrars were known for their non-pickiness when it came to victims. Only a few suspected that the King had arranged for the Granesmrars to kill him, and those that voiced their suspicions were swiftly and silently disposed of.

The troll guards soon got used to him coming and going; they valued their own lives too much to tell the King where his Kiarkaris was. I thought it strange that the King's own mount was the one to tell me all this. And even stranger that while he talked to me, his eyes would occasionally flash a bright blue for a short half second.

We chatted of non-consequential things for a while, mainly castle gossip, until we both fell silent. Today was my turn to ask questions for him to answer, and he was waiting expectantly, while I fidgeted and wondered what would be best to ask him.

It had struck me, the day before, that despite him being my friend, I knew very little about him. Though he had told me a lot about his race in general, he had stayed clear of personal details, or personal anecdotes. I knew he was kind, honest, brave and intelligent, and I knew that he was not as loyal to Otherland and its king as he pretended to be. I knew that he was curious like me, and wanted to know everything he could about different worlds. I knew that he lived at the castle but didn't call it home, nor seem to spend a lot of time with other Kiarkaris. I did not even know why his name was that of his breed. But today I resolved to find out.

'Kiar,' I began, and he looked up, ready to face the next question. I took a deep breath, and blurted out the first two of my questions. 'Why do you serve the King, if you don't really want to? And why are you friends with me? I'm a traitor, your country's enemy.'

His eyes turned darker, and an angry, brooding look passed over his face. He rose, and began to pace back and forth along the cold corridor, shifting his great black wings on his back restlessly. The goblin and the guard shrank from him, and for a moment, I saw the fierce warrior he was, and for the first time I saw the first Kiarkaris I'd met in him – the terrifying, deadly, eight-foot tall Monster, with red eyes glowing. But I quickly shook off this image. Kiar had _purple _eyes. Not red. Glowing, amethyst eyes. 'Kiar?' I called softly. 'You don't have to tell me if you don't want to.'

He shook his head. 'No. You asked. It just brings back a lot of bad memories – mainly to do with my family.'

_His family?_ An image of Hatter, kneeling before me in the ruins of his former home, recounting his terrible history and loss came to my mind. This was much the same, and I mentally scolded myself for being too curious. But I couldn't take back my words now.

The giant deer-monster lowered himself down to the stone ground before my cell again, and I came and sat closer to him, by the bars. He began his answer, eyes gazing past me into distant memories.

'To thoroughly answer that question, I must start at the very beginning, before I was even born. You see, we Kiarkaris have a sort of…royal family. And my family _is_ that royal family. We have always been allied to the kings and queens of Otherland, as a result. We Kiarkaris pose the biggest threat to the Otherland human monarchy, although you wouldn't believe that nowadays as we appear to be such close allies. But our natural intelligence; our strength; our numbers are all a great threat to the kingdom, and the only way for them to override that threat is to make friends of us. And so it has been since the very early days of Otherland. To cement our friendships, every new monarch, or leader, will be honoured by a gift from the other race. When our last Leader was appointed, the King at that time named one of the tallest of the mountains after him, and decreed that all land around it, and a couple of neighbouring peaks, would be reserved for the Kiarkaris. And when Sagredver Talorius' coronation took place, that Leader announced that his gift would be none other than the best of his race's foals, which would be given to the King, as his own personal mount, even if it was his own colt.'*

I gasped as the implication of his words hit me. 'That was _you?'_

He nodded, and I caught a glimpse of the hatred, anger and injustice burning in his eyes, before he regained his control and they became hard and cold once more. 'The King was ecstatic with this gift, as it is a great honour to ride a Kiarkaris, never mind the best. He did not even mind waiting for it to grow and mature.

'So the search began, for the best foal. And two years after the promise was made, they found him. He was born to one of the Leader's mates, nonetheless. Everyone who saw him – me – said that none with greater potential had been found. My father was a strong, brave Leader and my mother had been the daughter of the previous one. I grew up unaware of my so-called "great" destiny, and I only learned of it when I reached my fifth year. When I reached full maturity at seven years old, I was presented to the King and have served him since then, for the past four years. I was never given the choice.'

We sat in silence. I was too stunned to say anything. It seemed barbaric that such a wild, untamed,_ free_ creature as Kiar should be sold off, as what was fundamentally a peace offering. I realised that I'd been wrong; it was not the Hatter he had much in common with. I not only sympathized; I empathized with him. His past reminded me of my own; of the expectations and constraints of the Victorian society I'd grown up with. It seemed both Upperland and Otherland were prone to that kind of evil, which to my dismay, made me wonder if Underland could be too. 'I – I'm sorry I made you recount that,' I finally said, firmly pushing my previous thoughts to the back of my mind.

'Don't be,' he replied. 'It would have come out sooner or later. And it is only the truth.'

'Is that why you're friends with me?' I asked tentatively, alluding to my other question. 'Why you're not completely loyal…'

'That's a part of it,' he said, frowning a little. 'When I became the King's – _possession_ – every instinct in me longed to rebel, and flee the confines of his castle and both his and my family's ever watching gaze. Only the thought of my family's disgrace stopped me, and also, where would I go? The loss of freedom, of my own free will, of my _name _even, all of it hurt my natural pride, though with every passing year I've buried the pain deeper and deeper. In fact, before you appeared, the King and I were getting along quite well.' He didn't seem angry about that – far from it.

I laughed, and he joined in with me, his rough, deep voice echoing throughout the dungeons. I saw the guard gaze with blatant astonishment, as if he'd never seen a Kiarkaris laugh before. Come to think of it, he probably hadn't.

When the laughter faded away, I suddenly remembered his words. 'Wait – your _name?_'

'You didn't think _Kiar _was my original name, did you?' he replied with a snort. 'Believe me; the Kiarkaris are _far_ more creative than that.'

'Then why does everyone call you it?' I retorted defensively.

'When I became the King's, the name my mother had given me at birth was forgotten. Literally, forgotten. Neither she nor I nor anyone else can remember it, as it has always been. When I choose a side, the King will rename me. For now, he and everyone else call me Kiar.'

'When you…choose a side?'

I could tell immediately I'd touched on something he didn't want to talk about. He shifted and muttered something vehemently to himself, before rising suddenly. 'You there. What time is it?' he demanded, glaring at the guard.

'Forty-five minutes to seven in the evening, sir,' the poor guard stammered, jumping to his feet. He wore heavy black armour, while a long, jagged blade hung by his side, but he was still genuinely terrified of Kiar.

'My apologies, Miss Alice, but I must go,' he said formally to me, the previous warmth in his tone gone.

'Kiar, what's wrong? Why are you going?' I asked, bewildered by his sudden change. 'Was it something I said? If so, I'm sorry, I won't ask ag-'

'No; I have to meet the King,' he interrupted. 'He – he's expecting me.'

'I don't believe you,' I accused him.

'That's not my concern,' he snapped back at me.

I took an involuntary step back as he voiced those harsh words. Because as he had done so, for a split second, his eyes had flashed to that terrifying, danger-filled, glowing Red.

'Farewell, Miss Alice,' he snarled**,** and turned to leave.

'Fairfarren, Kiar,' I said quietly, still too stunned to move, as he disappeared around the corner.

'That word's forbidden!' the guard growled angrily, his courage returned with Kiar's absence. I silenced him with a look, before returning to my hard bunk and curling up into a ball. The only sound in the dungeons was the goblin's sudden outburst of manic laughter. The guard sullenly turned his back to me, and amused himself by polishing his long sword.

As I drifted off into an uneasy sleep, my last thought was that however Kiar acted towards me, whatever colour his eyes turned, he would still be my friend.

* * *

Kiar flew over the castle, savouring the familiar feel of the cold air on his wings. It was true that he did have to meet the King, but not for another hour. So he flew alone, far above the tall, jagged mountaintops.

However hard he tried, he couldn't stop his thoughts from drifting back to Alice, and their conversation. _Kiar, you idiot! _He chastised himself furiously. _You good for nothing hummel!** Think of all you told her! Think of what you almost gave away! Think how ashamed your family would be of you, if they learned that you had been telling a girl of Underland; the ultimate enemy, the lesser known facts of the Kiarkaris? Nay; not just ashamed; incensed! She has no right to know so much! _But as soon as he thought it, he began to question it. Did she have the right? The human Champion had been kind to him, as few had been since he'd entered the King's service. She'd supplied him with the stories and takes he'd long hungered for, she'd listened to his past with genuine interest, and had agreed with him on the injustice of it, as no one had done before. She had not been insanely terrified of him, as the majority of mindless humans in the castle were. And she had had such adventures as he had never had the chance to have, and probably never would now. These thoughts tormented and plagued his mind, fighting against his stubbornness, determined to win.

His thoughts were still unresolved when he slowly returned to the castle, and made his way to the throne room. The King greeted him gladly.

'Kiar!' he cried with a smile.

'Your Majesty,' Kiar bowed his head to his master, and acknowledged the other lords present with a nod of his head. Sir Laghiard, Lord Rothgram and Lord Hygar stood at the foot of the gold and marble staircase, while the King stood above them on the fifth step.

'I thought I should give you all an update on the situation concerning Miss Kingsleigh,' the King announced, resuming his seat and clasping his hands before him. 'As you all know, she has been in this castle a week now. I mean to pay her a visit tomorrow, but before then, I thought it only fair that my key men should be filled in.'

The men straightened up proudly in response, squared their shoulders, and assumed an air of self-importance. Kiar watched them with amusement, as he remained where he stood towering effortlessly above them.

'And so, let me begin,' Sagredver went on. 'She has been in the castle for seven days, and before that, according to the Hag, four days…'

Kiar tuned out most of the conversation, as much of it he already knew - although the others didn't - and focused instead on the internal battle in his mind. He had_ still _not reached a conclusion, when ten minutes later, his attention was caught again, at the mention of five others in the game. Possibilities swirled around his head as he listened to the men talk.

'…reported that they have only ventured outside of the forest once, three days ago, to steal a potion from a Hag's cottage, in all likelihood the same one that Alice got her's from. He couldn't see which one they took though, and the Hag hasn't returned yet so they cannot question her. Unfortunately they were in and out too quickly for the Kiarkaris to alert the Granesmrars. Now however, they have been seen close to Karzaron; on this very mountain in fact, but still buried deep and shielded by the forest.'

'Cowards!' Lord Hygar sneered. 'If they had any courage, they would come out and fight like honest men.'

'To be fair, Hygar, there are only five of them,' Sir Laghiard reluctantly pointed out. 'I would be doing the same, if I was in their position. My advice to you, my King, is to make sure the castle is secure and guarded well at all times. They may be able to outwit the two Kiarkaris shadowing them, but they cannot outwit a Fortress.'

'You speak well, my dear Laghiard,' the King replied. 'It shall be done as you say.'

'I admit, I would take a great pleasure in slaying an Underlandian,' Lord Rothgram declared, eyes glinting savagely as he fingered his gleaming sword. 'Is the threat of the Trees really too great for an ambush party, my Lord?'

'Yes!' Sagredver snapped. 'Have I not already confirmed that? Together, they managed to defeat twelve of the finest Granesmrars. Do not be so reckless, Rothgram. What hope do you, or any other man, have against them if the Granesmrars have failed?'

'I apologise, my Lord,' Lord Rothgram muttered, kneeling before him and bowing his head.

'I shall excuse it this time,' he said with an irritated sigh. 'But do not allow your foolish wishes get the better of you again, Rothgram. This is not the first time you have spoken without thinking in my court.' Lord Rothgram flushed a deep red, and remained kneeling on the marble floor. The King made no sign for him to get up. Kiar took his chance.

'Your Majesty?' he raised his voice.

'Yes, Kiar?' the King replied, smiling pleasantly at him.

'These people you talk of...they are Underlandians?'

'Yes, where have you been?'

'Forgive me, your Majesty. But is it a coincidence that they are here, at the same time as Miss Kingsleigh?'

'Certainly not!' He was impatient with the Kiarkaris now. 'They are the "rescue" party, sent out for her by the Queen of Underland, I assume.'

'Does Alice know?' The question jumped out of his mouth before he could stop it. _Of course she doesn't know, don't be an idiot! Wouldn't she have mentioned it to you if she did? _He thought this angrily.

'I don't believe so,' the King frowned. 'You think we should tell her?'

'I...yes.' She deserved to know that, at least, he thought. Better that than her being ignorant. Maybe they could work out some way to save them. As he listened as the King and his men continued to talk, the full gravity of the situation hit him. They were discussing the best way to kill Alice's friends; Alice's Underlandian friends none the less! And he was expected to join in. His blood ran cold at the thought, his noble side revolted, and he thought to himself; _I can't! I can't allow them to do that! I mustn't!_ In that second, Kiar realised that the people in the room with him were his true, heart-felt enemies, and not Alice , who was strangely enough and most definitely his _friend._

Not one person in the room noticed the great Kiarkaris start, nor saw the flash of bright blue in his eyes directly afterward. No; not one person noticed the difference, but one creature saw and furrowed his brow suspiciously. One creature by the name of Kwogedonn.

* * *

'How likely is it to work?' Mally asked, for what felt to everyone like the millionth time.

'Mally don't fret; it'll be fine!' the Hatter assured her, as he twisted the bottle cap in his hand. _Million – what a lovely M word._

'How do you know?' she snapped, fierce protection and worry in her eyes. 'How do any of us know? We don't. _You _don't know, _we _don't know, none of us have any idea what the Hag could have put in her potions. Perhaps she labelled them wrong!'

'Don't be silly, Mallymkun,' the Cheshire Cat admonished, appearing next to her his face unusually solemn. 'The real danger is that it _is_ the right potion, and it won't work, or it'll go horribly wrong. _Or _will cast him into the dreams of someone else altogether.'

'The Cat speaks the truth,' the beech tree they stood under said seriously. 'Before you undertake this dangerous task, you would do well to consider the risks, Mr Hightopp.'

'I have!' he cried impatiently, eyes briefly flaring orange. 'I know I risk getting lost in between dreams or forgetting how to return or enjoying them too much to return or getting entangled in the wrong dreams – '

'Hatter!'

'– or never waking up again,' he finished calmly.

Chessur shook his head in disbelief. 'And none of that makes you want to turn tail and run?'

'I am not a _slurvish_ coward, Chessur, unlike some.'

'I never said that I _would,_ just that if I was in your position, I would _want _to!' Chessur growled indignantly, waving his tail back and forth angrily.

'Chessur! Tarrant! This is solving nothing!' interrupted Absolem sternly. He stared hard at both of them until they looked away, ashamed. Then he spoke again. 'I agree with Tarrant that while it is unfortunate, and a great risk, it is our only chance of communicating with Alice.'

'Is it necessary that we communicate with her?' Mally asked huffily.

'Right now, it's all we can do,' replied Absolem gravely. 'If we attempt to leave the forest at all, we shall be picked off like carrion. No doubt the King's fortress is doubly guarded against intruders. Our only hope is that Alice can escape from the inside. If that fails, we may at least see how she is faring.'

'Tha' wee lassie may be nae mar'!' the Hare suddenly exclaimed, from the corner where he had been rocking back and forth, glaring at the small bottle in the Hatter's bandaged hand.

'That is true,' one of the Trees whispered, her voice laced with sadness. 'Karzaron is a fearful place; and she has been an inhabitant there for a week.'

'I'd use the term "prisoner" if I were you,' Chessur offered.

'No,' Tarrant said, adamant. 'I would have known, if Alice died.' This he believed without a doubt. If his – _the _– Alice was 'no more', he would feel it in his heart's core, in the very marrow of his bones. Because he knew that if that most unthinkable of unthinkable thoughts came to pass, he would no longer be able to go on, as his life would lose any meaning it had gained since the Horunvendush Day.

'If Tarrant says so, then it must be so,' Absolem said decidedly. 'Chessur, do you have the hair?'

The Cat nodded, and produced a single golden hair, that had been obtained from the bundle of Alice's belongings that the Trees were now keeping for her. The Hatter held out the potion, and Chessur carefully lowered it into the bottle. When it met the liquid, it was immediately sucked in, and the potion bubbled violently, before finally settling.

Pushing his nervousness and madness aside, the Hatter sat upright and looked up at his friends. 'Is there anything else I need to know?' he asked.

'No; no,' the Trees whispered together, their voices a soft murmur in the sudden breeze.

'Nothing more,' Absolem confirmed.

'Well then. Fairfarren, my friends.' With that, he resolutely swallowed a mouthful of the golden-yellow liquid. To his surprise, it tasted sweet, but he refrained from taking another mouthful as Absolem had warned him.

'Be safe, Hatter,' Mally whispered from where she stood next to his side. Her usual bravado was brushed aside by worry, fear and concern for her old friend. He managed a weak smile before the drowsiness dragged him back to the hard ground.

'Sweet dreams, Tarrant;' the half sarcastic, half serious voice of the Cheshire Cat was the last thing Tarrant Hightopp heard before he succumbed to the effects of the potion and closed his heavy eyelids, sinking deeper and deeper into the insubstantial, treacherous world of Dreams.

* * *

**A/N:**** I'm sorry if there are too many references to Victorian society& people are getting bored; I recently did a school essay on that subject so it's still fresh in my mind! I loovvee reviews, they make my day :D even short ones! Criticism is welcome too, I need to improve! :)**

***A colt is a young male horse, less than four years old.**

****A hummel is an antlerless male deer, so I'd say a common insult in the deer species that grow antlers!**

**xxxx**


	13. In Her Dreams

**Once again, I'm sorry its taken so long to put up :( I hope this chapter makes up for it! Lots of thanks& virtual cookies to all those who have reviewed, favorited or alerted! **

**Btw, im working on an Alice in Wonderland/Chronicles of Narnia crossover fanfic that should be up within the next couple of weeks, if anyones interested :)**

**Please excuse my terrible Outlandish :-/**

* * *

Chapter 13 – In Her Dreams

The Hatter slowly opened his eyes, to see a world forming around him. He blinked and shook his head, and the surroundings settled down, so that he appeared to be in the Tulgey Woods in Underland. He grinned widely at the familiar setting, before jumping to his feet and heading in the direction of the Tea Party where he was sure Alice would be.

Sooner than he should have, he emerged from the woods into his favourite clearing, where the tea tables stood. However, they were not the same as when he'd last seen them. They were brighter and merrier; from the Time before Horunvendush Day. Fresh, colourful cakes and treats were arranged delicately on mismatched plates and only a few stains adorned the white tablecloth. But then the Hatter's eyes moved to the guests, and he started back, in mingled surprise and horror.

At the head of the table, in his seat, sat the Mad Hatter. He was frowning down into his tea, and his eyes were slowly melting into a dull orange. The Hatter – the_ real_ Hatter, he told himself – stepped closer to the tea tables, so he could see this apparition of himself better. Neither Mally, Thackery, Nivens or the apparition of himself noticed when he stepped closer. Tarrant then watched curiously, and slightly angrily, as none other than Stayne – _that guddler's scut pilger licking_ – sauntered out of the forest and took a seat next to Mallymkun. There, he proceeded to quickly and quietly gather up all the tarts, before rising and bolting from the clearing, clutching them protectively to his chest. Mallymkun growled and stabbed her hatpin in his direction, before climbing onto Nivens' head and curling up to sleep there. Thackery threw a teacup after him, and then hopped down from his seat and into the Windmill. And then Alice was there.

Tarrant felt something jolt inside him as he looked at Alice for the first time in four years, unable to tear his eyes away. She was wearing a beautiful blue and white ball gown, and was looking positively breathtaking. She seemed to float over the long grass, to her usual seat beside the Mad Hatter. He grinned widely and offered her a scone. As the real Hatter looked on, Mallymkun and Nivens seemed to fade away until it was just Alice and her dream-Hatter.

'Why is a raven like a writing desk?' Alice asked him.

'I haven't the slightest idea,' he replied with a smile.

The real Hatter couldn't stop the strange emotion he knew as jealousy from rising up inside him, as he saw Alice talk about _his_ riddle to another – even if it was a strange version of himself. He debated over whether or not to make his presence known, but before he had come to a decision, a twig snapped under his foot and both Alice and the dream-Hatter whirled around to face him. 'Alice,' he lisped, too _happy elated excited enraptured overjoyed jubilant ecstatic joyful_ – there was no word for it! – to see Alice again to say anything more.

Surprise, then joy, and finally confusion passed over her face as she looked from one Hatter to the other in bewilderment. Then all of a sudden she bolted from her chair and hugged the Hatter tightly around his middle, her face in his chest. His arms wound around her and he held her close to him as he'd been longing to do for the past four years.

'Hatter is that really you?' she whispered, drawing back so she could look into his brilliant green eyes. 'Or are you just another dream?'

He held her gaze. 'It's really me, Alice. Although we are still in your dream.'

She frowned, and looked around. 'In my dream? How? Why?' He tore his eyes from her beautiful ones to look around, and saw that the tea party and the dream-Hatter had disappeared, and they were now in the gardens of Marmoreal under a canopy of white blossom trees.

'I took a potion to enter your dreams. I'm so sorry I didn't ask your permission beforehand it was terribly rude of me to come in without your permission but it was quite necessary and the others thought you'd prefer me here and I do hope you're not displeased –'

'Hatter!'

'Thank you, dear Alice.'

She returned his smile, but then the look of confusion returned. 'So...am I still dreaming?'

'Yes,' he confirmed, but quickly added; 'This _is_ happening though. I'm not a figment of your imagination.'

'Of course you're not,' Alice agreed. 'I can't believe I thought that, before. I'm sorry I said you were...'

'It's fine, Alice. You know I'm real now and that's what matters.'

'I didn't forget you, you know,' she said suddenly, looking up at him earnestly. 'I mean I did at first, but not entirely. I knew I had forgotten something, and I remembered in the end. I tried to keep my promise Hatter, honestly.'

'I know, I know,' he gently reassured her, and wrapped his arms tighter around her. They stood together like that for a few minutes, and the silence was only broken when Alice sighed contentedly.

'Hatter, why was it necessary to enter my dreams?' she questioned, a short time after. She stepped back, causing a pang of disappointment to rise in his chest, but then she slipped her gentle hand into his, and it abated. They began to walk through the gardens, along the rows of blossom trees.

'We didn't know how else to reach you, Alice. We didn't know if you were safe, or still in Otherland or –' He refused to expand on that thought. 'The Trees knew you had not returned to Underland, but the last they saw of you was you disappearing inside that dark Fortress.'

Her mind was whirling. 'The Trees? They're helping you? You're in _Otherland?'_

'Why yes of course, Alice! You don't think we would have stayed in Underland and done nothing while you struggled to survive in this dangerous world, do you?'

'I don't know what I thought,' she murmured. 'But you shouldn't have come! As you said, its horribly dangerous here, you could get yourself killed!'

'It's better to die rescuing you down here than live forever as a coward in Underland,' he responded immediately. Then added as an afterthought; 'Anyway, I don't think there's much chance of that while we stay in the forest. The Trees are on our side and the King will not order an attack on us until we are vulnerable and alone.'

'Who's we?' she asked curiously.

'Mally, Thackery, Chessur, Absolem and me. McTwisp offered to come as well but he's really too delicate for Otherland; I doubt he could stand it.'

'No I don't think he would,' she agreed, then sighed. 'As much as I hate the idea of my dearest friends being in Otherland, I can't help but feel a little relieved that I'm not completely alone, and perhaps I do have a hope of escape.'

'Of course you have a hope of escape!' the Hatter cried hotly, madness taking over for a brief instant. 'Where are you, Alice? We'll come and find you, I promise!'

'I'm in a cell in Karzaron,' she said, her countenance darkening, and then they were standing in her very cell, and the beautiful white gardens were nowhere to be seen. The goblin and a troll guard were there, but they took no notice of the pair. The Hatter looked about him in horror.

'How can they make a lady, a Champion nonetheless, live in such conditions?' he growled, orange eyes alight. 'It's barbaric. If ah ever cam tae grips with tha' barbarians, ah'll skewer 'em-'

'Hatter!' Alice interrupted him.

He exhaled, relaxing. 'Sorry, Alice. It's just so...so...' He gestured in the air, searching for the right word before finally giving up. 'We'll get you out of here, don't worry Alice. We'll think of a plan.'

'I hope so,' she replied sincerely. 'When you get me out though, how are we going to return to Underland?'

'By potion of course, Alice. That's how we got here; Jabberwocky blood.'

'Do you have it with you _now?'_

'Unfortunately, no. It would be ineffectual if you drank it here. But I have your way home safely in my pocket, in the waking world.'

'That's a shame,' Alice sighed. 'It would have been nice if I could have just returned to Underland now.'

'That would have been marvellous,' he acknowledged. 'But we still have a little further to go, sweet Alice.' _Idiot!_ _Slurvish, gallymoggers hatter! What on earth did you say that for? _Luckily, Alice didn't seem to notice the endearment. She was concentrating hard on something, scowling fiercely. Finally she sighed and met the Hatter's curious gaze.

'I was trying to change the scene,' she explained. 'But it doesn't seem to be working.'

'I don't know a lot about dreams,' the Hatter admitted. 'Perhaps we should try walking again? At least in that case, we'll get _somewhere. _Even if we don't leave this cell.'

She nodded; and they stepped forward, passing easily through the bars of the cell, towards and through the door, and there, where Alice's memory did not cover, they walked into a green, busy park filled with men and women strolling leisurely along the paths, children playing with hoops and other toys and other families and friends picnicking in the grassy areas. Alice turned to Hatter and grinned. 'It worked!' she exclaimed. 'Our nanny used to take me and Margaret to this park to play when we were younger, and a few times Father and Mother took us. It was only a couple of streets away from our house.'

'So this is Victorian London?' the Hatter asked, looking around with interest. He frowned. 'It seems awfully dull. Too many people wearing white or grey in my opinion.'

'It is,' Alice confirmed with a smile, noticing how out of place Hatter looked in the midst of Victorian London. 'Not at all like Underland.'

'They could all do with nicer hats too,' the Hatter added, observing the boring, almost identical hats. 'Those top hats are a disgrace. Who ever heard of a _plain__ black_ top hat? Very odd indeed... Feathers would do the trick, I think. And a colourful design.'

Alice giggled, enjoying being with someone who had the same opinion of London as her. 'Those would definitely brighten up this place.' He looked pleased, and they walked on, still hand in hand. Neither had any intention of letting the other go. 'How long do we have here?' Alice finally asked.

'Until we both wake up...so a few more hours, maybe?'

'Can you tell me everything that's happened to you since you arrived in Otherland?'

'Only if you tell me what's happened to you, first.'

'But I asked you first!'

'Yes; but you are in more danger than me and it's more necessary to hear your story than mine. Your safety, and escape, is the priority.'

'Fine,' Alice sighed, unwilling to argue. And then began to recount all that had befallen her since that fateful fall, just ten days ago. It wasn't a smooth story; the Hatter interrupted her many times, mostly involuntarily, and so it took a long time to tell, but they hardly seemed to notice the time passing. By the time Alice had finished, they found themselves in the Tulgey Woods once more, and there Hatter began _his_ story.

Alice was a much quieter listener than the Hatter, but even she couldn't stop herself from interrupting several times. When he spoke of the Granesmrars, her face turned the palest shade of white and she clutched his hand tighter. When he told her that Absolem had visited Otherland before, she wanted to know everything he'd said, and couldn't help feeling a little annoyed that he hadn't warned her of the risks and possible consequences of falling down the rabbit hole before she had. And when he mentioned the second encounter with the Granesmrars – not wanting to go in details – she gasped in horror and immediately began fussing over his left hand. It was still bound in bandages but the pain had eased a little since the attack and in this dream world the Hatter couldn't feel it at all. As for the wound on his neck, the bandages were no longer needed. It was healing, albeit slowly, and was concealed under his shock of wild orange hair.

'I'm so sorry, Hatter,' Alice kept saying, her eyes filling up with precious tears. _No! Alice can't cry!_

'It isn't your fault, Alice!' Tarrant cried, trying unsuccessfully to withdraw his injured hand from her. 'It was mine; I was not as careful as I should have been.'

'But it _is_ my fault you were hurt!' she insisted. 'If you had not come here to rescue me, you would not have fought the Granesmrar and you wouldn't be injured! I'm so sorry – '

'If any should apologize, it's Otherland,' the Hatter said firmly, raising his uninjured hand up to cup her face, just like she had done to him in his workshop, in the Red Queen's castle. 'Alice, you are not to blame. If I had known I would have come anyway, and nothing, not even you, could have stopped me. If this is the price I must pay to rescue you, then I will pay it over and over again, gladly.' His voice softened, and his accent broke through. 'Jus' please; dinnae cry, Alice. Ye are far tae good tae cry.'

She brought her hand up to rest on his, overcome by the pleading yet beautiful look in his eyes, now a dark green verging on blue. 'Did I tell you that I missed you, while I was in Upperland?' she asked him softly.

He grinned, relieved by the subject change. 'Nay, but it does my heart good tae hear it, lass.'

Alice smiled, and gently caressed his cheek with her other hand, as his injured hand came to rest lightly at her waist. Several thoughts came to her; first and foremost that if something – something she did – went horribly, embarrassingly wrong, she could always just pinch herself to wake up. Temptation pulled at her, whispered to her, as their faces drew almost imperceptibly closer together. A strange, foreign feeling rushed through her, and she shivered. A voice urged her to _just do it_, while another whispered of their _friend_ship, and yet another reminded her of her morals, and chastised her for feeling that way. Tormented with the choice, she met his eyes, hoping to be distracted, and so she was.

He was staring back at her with a slightly bemused expression, but happiness shone out of his glowing green eyes like a beacon. Alice thought that she could watch him like this forever. But against the shimmering, vibrant green, tiny sparks of violet appeared, flaring up and vanishing instantly, dancing across his irises to a silent song.

Tarrant was the one who finally broke the spell, giving her an awkward smile as he lowered his hand, but still keeping hold of hers. Alice breathed a quiet sigh of relief – mingled with slight regret and disappointment – and they resumed walking. She debated asking him what the colour violet meant, but it had disappeared now and she couldn't be sure that she hadn't imagined it.

'Underland isn't the same without you, you know,' he spoke as they passed by the tea party once more. This time the Tweedles and Stayne were fighting for possession of the tarts, while the two Queens Red and White looked on, sipping their tea delicately. Thackery threw a teacup at them as they passed, but other than that the Underlandians carried on as usual.

'What's Underland like, now that the Red Queen's reign is over?' Alice asked curiously. As she remembered back to her time in Underland with the Red Queen, their surroundings morphed into the gardens of Salazen Grum.

'I think I'm getting quite used to this change of scenes,' Tarrant said with a grin, lifting his Hat to the crowd of people playing croquet. They bowed and curtseyed in return, before returning to their game. One or two shouted invitations for them to join, while another cried; _'No room! No room!'_

'Hatter?' Alice prompted him.

'Yes, Alice?'

She struggled to find a way to ask him to answer her question, without sounding rude, and finally settled for repeating the question.

'Ah, yes. My apologies, dear Alice. Underland is…definitely better. Everyone is much happier now. The White Queen freed all her sister's slaves, some of whom now work for the proper wages in Marmoreal, and has restored many of the villages and towns that were destroyed.' A dark shadow –a memory – crossed his face, but he quickly shook it off, and resumed his story. 'As for the Red Queen's "favourites", they have been given another chance. Not one of them have tried to seek out their former Queen.'

'What about Time? How long has it been in Underland, since I left?'

'Time has settled down a bit now. McTwisp tells me its been four years, since the Frabjous Day. I – I wouldn't really know; I haven't been paying much attention to the passing of Time, you see.'

'You should really apologize to him sometime, Hatter,' Alice reproached him fondly, smiling.

He scowled involuntarily. 'He deserved it; tha' tricky bugger.'

'Perhaps; but would you enjoy staying young and strong while the rest of us grow old and frail?'

'Obviously no one has explained to you how Time works in Underland, Alice,' he chuckled.

'Then would you please tell me?'

'Certainly. In Underland, we do not grow old as such. We grow from children to adults in the usual way, and then we remain at that age for however long we want to, or need to. Time occasionally meddles in some unlucky individual's life, but for the most part it ignores us and lets us be when we are grown. You may grow old, but you shall never grow frail in Underland, Alice.'

'So that is why you have not aged, since I first met you as a child all those years ago!'

'That's part of it, but it was also due to me killing Time. It did not feel like years to me – it was quite a shock when you arrived fully grown.'

'But you still knew it was me,' she said, happiness evident in her voice.

'Of course! How could I not know the right Alice? Even without your muchness, you were still eminently _Alice._ No one else could be more so.'

She squeezed his hand. 'Thank you, Hatter. Do I still have my muchness now?'

'Thankfully, yes. I would have been quite upset at Upperland if it had contrived to rob you of your muchness _again._ That would have been unacceptable!'

'Believe me, it tried,' Alice laughed. 'But I held tight onto it, with the help of Absolem and my memories of here – memories of you.' At her words, the violet sparks flickered again, and he squeezed her hand back.

'I feel bad calling you just Hatter all the time,' she said suddenly. Tarrant turned to look at her in surprise. She was fidgeting nervously with her long skirts as she talked. 'Would you mind if I called you Tarrant instead? Would you prefer it? Or would you rather I just –'

'Alice!' He grinned as she looked down sheepishly. 'I would be honoured if you called me Tarrant. I think I would prefer it to Hatter, though you may call me by that as well, of course. You may call me whatever you like.'

She grinned back at him. 'I like the name Tarrant. I'm sorry I didn't know it in Underland; Absolem told me when I was back in Upperland.'

'Don't worry about it, dear Alice, not many call me by my birth name nowadays. I like the name Alice; it's very muchy. It suits you.'

'You are too kind, Tarrant.'

'Nay; never kind enough,' he whispered quietly so that she did not hear.

Gradually, the garden faded, and they were on the beach by the Crimson Sea. Their conversation flowed eaily and effortlessly, as they talked of many things; of shoes and ships and sealing wax, of cabbages and kings. The Hatter told her more about Underland; things she had not had the chance to learn on her last visit. He told her of their festivals; their customs; their wonders. She listened avidly to everything.

They were sitting on the sand, facing the setting sun, when Alice first felt a slight tug. She turned; but only Tarrant was with her, looking at her quizzically. Then a loud voice boomed, breaking into the beauty and harmony of her dream.

'_Wake up, yeh lazy wench!' _

'What was that?' she cried, jumping to her feet and whirling around.

'I don't think it came from here,' Tarrant said nervously, also rising. 'I – I think they're trying to wake you up.'

'No!' Then she staggered backwards as something prodded her shoulder rudely. 'Ow!'

Tarrant grabbed her wrist, as if he could somehow hold onto her and keep her with him in the dream-world forever. 'Stay with me, Alice!' he murmured, eyes pleading.

'I'm trying! I don't want to go, dear Tarrant!' Alice clenched her fists and tried her hardest to distance herself from that voice. But it was no use; she could feel herself slipping away. Then a thought occurred to her. 'Wait; what will happen to you when I wake up?'

'I will wake up too,' he replied, looking at her sadly. 'I never thought I'd be so eager to continue dreaming.'

A tear formed in the corner of her eye at the thought of leaving him behind again. Blinking back the rest, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. 'I'll miss you when I wake up, Tarrant,' she whispered in his ear.

His breath caught and he wished he never had to let her go. 'I'll miss you too, my Alice.'

Something prodded her again, sending her stumbling a few paces back from him. She was fading, faster now, and he could only watch in despair. When he put his arms around her again, he could barely feel her.

'I'm sorry, I can't hold on much longer Tarrant,' she said sorrowfully.

He hugged her insubstantial form to him closer. 'If it's a struggle for you, then don't fight it. I'll come back tomorrow night, if you'd like?'

She nodded firmly and managed a smile. 'Please do, Tarrant.'

Then he leaned closer to her and whispered; _'What is greater than God and more evil than the Devil? The poor have it and the rich need it. If you eat it, you shall die.'_

'A new riddle?'

'Just something to keep you occupied in that cell. Of course; if you ever figure out how exactly a raven is like a writing desk, do not hesitate to tell me.'

'I'm still thinking about it.'

'Good girl!_ Fairfarren,_ my Al-'

The rest of his words were drowned out as a great wave sprang up from the sea, drenching them and –

* * *

Alice woke up spluttering in her hard, cold cell. A guard was standing over her, a now empty bucket in his hands. 'Was that really necessary?' she glowered at him.

'You wouldn't wake otherwise,' he growled. 'Come. The King wants to see you.'

* * *

**The line 'of shoes and ships and sealing wax, of cabbages and kings' comes from the poem 'The Walrus and the Carpenter' in the original book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland :)**

**xxx**


	14. Silences, Sides and Stubbornness

**I am so so so sorry this took so long :( My feeble excuses are that school has been hell lately, writing block returned in full force, and I was under a lot of stress... all of which you've probably heard before, but its true :( Its only fair to warn you guys that the next update probably won't be soon either, I will NOT be giving up on this story, but I recently learned about National Novel Writing Month & I really want to give it a go next month! I wont be giving up on fanfiction, & I wish I could use this story for NaNoWriMo, but its been started, so I cant :-/ **

**All of you who stuck around, and gave me over 30 reviews, thank you so much & Im really sorry :(**

**Disclaimer: I dont own Alice in Wonderland or any of the characters, only the plot, OCs & Otherland belong to me :)**

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Chapter 14 - Silences, Sides and Stubbornness

Sitting on the brim of his Hat, Mallymkun could already see the difference in Hatter since he'd woken from his dream with Alice. Consumed and saddened as she was with envy and jealousy, she had to admit that Hatter had been a lot happier since the dream. The bad Madness that had haunted him since Frabjous Day had gone, and he was _genuinely_ happy.

They had all been astonished at the change in him when he'd woken with a start, his green eyes shining and glowing as they hadn't done in far too long. She dearly wished to know – and yet didn't at the same time – all that had happened in the dream, but not even Chessur had managed to coax it out of him yet.

Of course, one thing had not changed – his determination to rescue Alice. If anything, it had increased, and that was the reason for the meeting.

'Why don't we take more potions from the Hag's cottage?' the Hatter suggested. This was his eleventh suggestion. 'There has to be one which will help us.'

'Don't be stupid, we can't go back there,' Absolem said with a snort.

'Why ever not?'

'The King is aware that it is useful to us, and so it will be heavily guarded in case we do decide to return.'

'One step outside, and we're done for,' Mallymkun added, drawing her paw across her throat for effect.

'We know where she is in the castle,' one of the Trees said decisively. 'The cells Mr Hightopp described are two floors below ground level, and directly under the torture chambers. The only exit for them is the exit Alice glimpsed, and it's guarded at both ends.'

'By Trolls?' Thackery asked, eyes popping slightly.

'Yes; there'll be at least one troll guard and perhaps an All-Seeing Hound too. An ally of ours who stands beside the castle wall sent word to us that archers line the walls of the castle and Kiarkaris and Granesmrars patrol the night sky. Climbing over would be impossible.'

'Nothing's impossible,' the Hatter replied stubbornly.

'As you wish; it's not impossible but highly impractical. There will be better ways of entering.'

'What about Absolem and me?' Mallymkun proposed boldly. 'We could enter unseen; like Alice did. And if we get into any danger, I'll hold them off while Absolem gets to Alice.'

'Splendid idea, dear Mally!' Tarrant exclaimed, grinning widely.

'It might work,' the Trees mused.

'Nay!' Thackery cried, pulling at his ears fretfully. 'Tae dangerous!'

'We could do it,' she said resolutely, turning to Absolem. 'Couldn't we?'

His wise blue eyes bored steadily into hers, a grave expression on his face. 'No.'

They gaped at the finality in that one word. 'Why not, Absolem?' Tarrant finally broke the silence, with a nervous giggle.

He transferred his gaze to Tarrant. 'No. It would not work.'

'Absolem, just tell us!' Mallymkun cried crossly, glaring at him.

'It would not work,' he repeated flatly. And there really wasn't anything left for them to say.

Mallymkun ground her teeth and scowled as she thought. The Hatter knitted his brows together and put his head in his hands, causing her to slip a bit. Thackery, for once recognizing the gravity of the situation, laid his spoon aside and thought also. The Trees were silent.

'You've forgotten something, all of you,' a voice said dryly, materializing a second later to form the Cheshire Cat. He hadn't spoken for so long that they'd almost forgotten about him.

'Pray what is it?' a Tree asked, sounding faintly annoyed.

Chessur smirked.

'This is no time for your petty games, Chessur!' Tarrant snarled, suddenly leaping to his feet. Mally clung on desperately, cursing his unpredictable rages.

'Calm down, Tarrant,' was the smooth reply. Both the Mad Hatter and Chessur sat down, the former still eyeing the latter suspiciously. Chessur cleared his throat and smiled his infuriating smile once again. 'As I was saying, you've all forgotten one very important asset.' He paused dramatically. 'Me.'

'_You're_ our asset?' Mally cried in disbelief, and began to laugh. A hurt expression crossed the feline's face, before his cool, composed façade covered it.

'No, he's right!' Tarrant cried, jumping to his feet again excitedly. Mally growled, but he paid no attention. 'Chessur _is _an asset! He can become invisible without the help of potions, and he can go places we cannot, including inside locks! And he can talk his way out of anything!'

'I am proud of that last skill,' Chessur purred, grinning.

'He can sneak past guards where we can't,' Tarrant continued, his eyes lighting up as they often did when he got inspiration for a new hat or outfit. 'He can evaporate anywhere he chooses –'

'That's not strictly speaking true,' Chessur interrupted. 'I can only evaporate to places that I have already been. But I can make my way to other places; invisible and untouchable.'

'That's good enough,' Absolem concurred.

'Chessur could sneak in easily enough and unlock doors and bolts and take care of the guards for us or just distract them while we take care of them if he prefers then Absolem could guide us to Alice's cell and Chessur could unlock that and then…' Uncertainty returned to his features as Tarrant contemplated how Alice – and themselves – could escape from that point.

'How do we get in or out?' Mallymkun wondered aloud.

'We don't need to get out,' Chessur sighed, rolling his eyes. 'We can just give Alice her potion, and then vanish back to Underland. We don't even need to open her cell.'

'Excellent plan, Chessur!' Tarrant cried merrily. 'Almost-but-not-quite foolproof!'

'If you weren't such a _guddler's scut,_ I might even give you a hug!' Mallymkun laughed, poking him with her hatpin.

She regretted her words instantly as he grabbed her from Tarrant's hat and hugged her tightly. 'Dear Mally, if I pull this off you shall all be forever in my debt, and you will _never_ call me that loathsome name again.'

'O-ok,' she squeaked, as he let her go, setting her gently back on Tarrant's Hat.

'You still haven't solved the problem of how to get in,' an old fir Tree pointed out.

The Underlandians looked at one another in dismay. 'Tha's a bad one,' Thackery finally said, putting on his "thinking face" which was so comical the other members of the Tea Party couldn't help but burst out laughing.

'Any ideas?' Absolem eventually asked when the laughter had subsided.

There was silence in the clearing.

'I have a suggestion,' Chessur offered cautiously. 'But you won't like it.'

'I don't think we have a choice,' Mally said glumly. 'Spit it out, Cat.'

'Courtesy costs nothing, you know.'

'The same goes for courage, and honour.'

He growled, surprising them with his sudden vehemence. 'When we're not in a perilous, deadly World, hiding from a dangerous dictator, fearing for our lives and on the brink of a life-changing decision, I'll get you back for that. As it is, we are, so I'll ignore you and your pettiness for now, _Dormouse._ Anyway, what if I go _alone_ into the castle and give Alice her potion?'

First shock, then confusion and finally uncertainty appeared on his friends' faces. 'I don't like it,' Tarrant finally said, somewhat hesitantly. 'But it seems like it might be the only viable option left.'

Chessur nodded triumphantly. 'I think so too.'

'How will we know that Alice has returned safely?' Mally asked suspiciously.

'I'll watch her drink it, watch her disappear, make sure she's gone, then evaporate back to this place and tell you of my success, so we can all drink our potions and return to Underland. Good enough?'

'It would work,' the Dormouse admitted reluctantly.

'Spoon,' Thackery agreed.

'Absolem?' Tarrant asked, and all eyes turned expectantly to him.

He seemed indifferent to the many eyes – visible or not – resting on him, as he gazed back from his perch on a tree branch. 'It is not a good idea to separate.'

'Perhaps not, but at times it is necessary,' Tarrant replied solemnly.

'It is still not a good idea.'

'It will work,' Chessur said confidently. 'Do stop your worrying, Absolem.'

'I still don't think we should separate,' the butterfly said obstinately.

'Oh, stop being so stubborn!' Mally suddenly growled, finally losing her patience. 'If you're gonna refuse a plan, then at least give us a proper legitimate reason! As much as it pains me to say, Chessur is right, in this situation anyway, and I agree with him that you're being unreasonable.'

'Thank you Mally,' the Cat purred, eyes gleaming.

'If you think that I am unreasonable, I wonder that you do not go on with your plan without my consent,' Absolem replied evenly, turning away from them.

Another uneasy silence fell in the clearing. Tarrant and Chessur exchanged an uncomfortable look. Although no one would admit it, no one liked the idea of going ahead with Chessur's plan, without their wise, unofficial Leader's approval. Even Mallymkun fidgeted and said nothing.

And in his tree, Absolem smirked to himself.

They were saved from their decision by sunset. As the last rays of the weak sun faded away, Tarrant spoke. 'I should take the potion now. Perhaps Alice will have an idea. If not…well we'll think about it overnight. Agreed?' He looked to his friends for confirmation, and they nodded. Chessur handed Tarrant the potion, and he sat down his back against a tree, removing Mallymkun carefully from his Hat and placing her on his shoulder. She smiled gratefully up at him.

'Goodnight, Hatta'.'

'Sweet dreams, and Fairfarren, Mally.' The Hatter took a quick drink, before recapping the potion and slipping it into his pocket. Pulling his Hat over his eyes, he folded his arms over his chest and fell rapidly into a deep sleep.

* * *

Alice glared angrily at the guards as they pushed her roughly into the middle of the throne room. At her arrival, the King separated himself from the group of simpering ladies, and stepped forward to the foot of the stairs leading to his throne. He noted briefly that a few strands of her hair hung damp and limp around the front of her face, while the rest cascaded into its usual untidy mass of curls, before bowing his head to her. Seeing his guards bare their teeth threateningly at her, she reluctantly curtseyed in return.

'Welcome, Miss Kingsleigh. I trust you've had a pleasant stay so far?'

The ladies tittered, and Alice shot them a look of contempt. 'No sir, I haven't.'

He feigned surprise. 'How terrible! It is truly a shame that you have not been able to see Karzaron in all its glory. Perhaps if you prove to be trustworthy, you'll have the chance.'

'What did you want me for?' she snapped, ignoring his civility.

His wicked grin returned. 'I wished to see how you were faring. Tell me; from what you have seen of Otherland so far, what is your opinion of it? I am always curious as to what strangers think of my realm.'

'I think it's an evil, treacherous, unfriendly, mad world, without one ounce of goodness in it,' she stated candidly. The Otherlandians in the room all showed expressions of shock and fear, but the King laughed, and they relaxed. He hadn't expected anything different. But he missed the way Alice's eyes flickered towards his Kiarkaris standing on the other side of his throne at the end of her sentence, and the almost apologetic look in them.

'I thought you liked madness?' he asked mockingly.

She shook her head and frowned. 'Not this kind.'

'Ah. So it's safe to say that you prefer Underland to here?'

'Of course.'

Growing bored of his audience, the King motioned for them to leave. The guards frowned, but did as they were told. Likewise, the lords were evidently displeased but after hesitating a moment, they bowed to him and escorted the ladies out, some of whom were shooting jealous looks at Alice as they departed. Kiar made to leave also, but Sagredver called him back. Kwogedonn closed the main doors with a grunt and stood in front of them, at the ready.

Alice stood her ground, looking at him almost challengingly. The King found himself admiring her courage in the face of adversity; she was truly a worthwhile Champion for Underland. But unfortunately for her, Champions had no place in Otherland. Especially human ones.

Stopping his musings, he spoke first. 'I find it strange that you are so attached to Underland, and yet despise the very sound of Otherland.'

Contempt was clear in her voice as she spoke. 'I don't. They are opposite in almost every way, and stand for completely different things. Any Underlandian is worth ten of you.'

'I would not be so sure if I were you, Miss Kingsleigh. Were we not all Underlandians, once?'

'What does that matter?' she retorted angrily. 'You chose to be different from them, did you not?'

An almost imperceptible shadow passed over his face, and he murmured, so softly that he doubted Alice heard; _'Not all of us.'_ A moment later, it lifted and his savage grin returned as he turned to face her once again. His voice was harsher, and bitterer, than before. 'Underland is not as perfect as it would have you believe, Alice. As you yourself wish to believe. You would be wise to remember that it was that very place that led to the Creation of this one. If people change once, they can do so again.'

'I am aware of that,' she replied icily, but he could see her confidence wavering slightly.

'In Upperland, you say that "all is not what it seems" do you not?' he asked. She nodded and he went on. 'An excellent phrase and one that applies to Underland as well. A prime example is that of the late Red Queen. Who would have thought that such a cruel, merciless tyrant could have been born to such kind, wise Monarchs that were her parents? No one would have believed it, and yet it was true.'

'Stop it,' she said through clenched teeth. 'The Red Queen… the Red Queen was an exception.'

He shrugged. 'Keep believing that if you wish, Miss Kingsleigh. But if you think it to be so impossible that darkness lurks in the hearts of your dearest friends, and in the heart of your Wonderland, then why not add it to your list of six impossible things to believe before breakfast?'

She stared in shock at him, and opened her mouth to attempt an answer, before deciding against it and staying silent. Satisfied, he climbed up the thirteen steps and settled into his throne. 'You may go now.'

'Is that all you wanted me for?' she asked in disbelief.

'Yes, that's all. I do hope you enjoyed our little chat as much as I did. Kwogedonn, see to it that she's escorted safely back to the dungeons – blindfolded of course.'

'As you wish my King,' his loyal servant bowed, and grasped Alice's wrist in his dirty, pudgy hands.

'Hopefully I shall see you again soon, Miss Kingsleigh,' Sagredver called, smiling charmingly at her. 'It has been a pleasure. Kwogedonn, summon Lord Rothgram and Lord Hygar to my study, as soon as Miss Kingsleigh is taken care of. Kiar, you are excused.' He could feel Alice's eyes on his back as he rose abruptly from his chair and strode across his throne room, exiting swiftly through one of the lesser used side doors. He had received news that morning of a long-awaited development in his plan, and now he felt it was time to reveal his plans to his most faithful and trusted advisers, just in time for the crescendo.

* * *

_Alice_

I took no note of the food that had just been left in my cell. Despite not having eaten since the day before, I wasn't hungry. It wasn't until I heard the goblin muttering glumly to himself that I roused myself and quickly passed him his share before the guard returned. Then I went back to brooding on my hard bed.

The King's words had deeply unsettled me. Hours later, I was still thinking about them. Could it be true? Could my friends succumb to the dark madness too? Was it possible? I had already discovered that Underland was not as perfect as it had seemed to be when I was a child; was I still seeing an illusion? I had not known of Otherland, after all. What else was I ignorant of? What else had the citizens of Underland not told me?

My heart lurched as I thought of one of my friends who most definitely had been touched by the bad kind of madness. I had seen the fiery rage in Tarrant's orange eyes, and heard the pure, uncontrolled anger in his voice. I knew he wasn't to blame for it, as he'd been through so much in his life, but nevertheless that madness was a part of him. Though I could calm him down, I doubted that I or anyone else could ever completely exorcize the demons from his past.

My dark thoughts were interrupted by an urgent _'Alice!'_ I looked up to see Kiar at the bars of my cell. Despite our argument and his harsh words, I was too glad to see his eyes purple once more to be angry with him.

'Kiar!' I exclaimed happily, rising from the bed.

'No visitors,' the guard grunted. I waited restlessly as Kiar made it clear to him that he was to remain out of the Kiarkaris' business and not say _anything_ to the King, if he wished to stay in one piece.

'I'm sorry,' I said quietly, as soon as the guard was silent. 'I know I shouldn't have pried last night. It was very rude, and improper of me, and I won't do it again if –'

'I'm not angry with you anymore, Alice,' he said firmly, cutting through my apology. 'I overreacted and I am the one should be sorry, for snapping at you. Let's not waste any more time on past fights and focus on the matter at hand.'

'Agreed,' I nodded, relieved.

'There's something I must tell you,' he continued urgently. 'Last night, I was told by the King that some of your friends from Underland have been discovered here, in Otherland!'

'Yes, I know.'

I almost laughed at the surprise on his face. 'You know?' he asked in disbelief. 'How? Did a guard tell you?'

'No... You see, my friend the Mad Hatter – or Tarrant, rather – was _there,_ in my dream last night, and he told me.'

I waited for the blatant disbelief, the declaration of my insanity, the odd look. 'Oh, that explains it,' he nodded.

I stared at him, stunned. 'Kiar, I mean the _real _Hatter, not just someone I dreamed up. He was really there!'

_Now _he was looking at me oddly. 'Yes, I understood the first time, Alice. Did he know they're being watched?'

'Y-yes. They're hiding in the forest...' I trailed off; still astonished at his complete acceptance of the fact that one of my friends _entered my dream._ 'Is it – normal, in Otherland, to go into each other's dreams?'

'Not normal exactly; it's quite a complicated potion to make,' he said thoughtfully. 'They must have gotten it from the Hag's cottage. Have they a plan to rescue you yet?'

'They're working on it, I think. The Trees are helping them.'

'Yes, I heard. It's very lucky indeed that you befriended the Trees; I've not heard of them being so active for a very long time.'

'I only wish there was something we could do for them in return,' I said sadly.

'We can protect the Champion, and citizens of their true home,' Kiar said steadfastly. 'That is our duty now.'

I nodded, and gave him a faint smile in return. 'Perhaps they will have found a way, by tonight.'

'Perhaps. I have a suggestion, though.'

'What is it?'

He lowered his voice so the guard couldn't hear, and leaned closer to the bars. 'No one suspects me of anything. I could meet them in the woods, and from there, fly them into the castle at nightfall. I could land on a deserted battlement, and guide them down to the dungeons. It might be more difficult to get out, but it's a start.'

'That would be wonderful, Kiar!' I whispered gladly. 'I'll tell Tarrant tonight, I'm sure it would work! They have a potion to get me back to Underland, so I can take it as soon as they arrive here.'

'Excellent, so by tomorrow night, you could be back in Underland,' he said in relief. 'If everything runs smoothly.'

'I'm sure it will,' I said confidently.

'Now we've got that sorted, eat something,' he ordered, looking pointedly at my tray of food.

'I'm not hungry,' I insisted.

'You will be,' he replied adamantly. 'You'll be too hungry to fall asleep tonight, and then you won't be rescued. You don't want that, do you?'

I rolled my eyes and sat down next to my tray, beaten. He smirked as I grudgingly began to eat. 'I'm glad your eyes aren't Red anymore,' I commented, as I finished the last meagre scraps of food.

He surprised me by starting violently. 'My-my eyes were Red?'

I nodded. 'Last night, just before you left – they flashed Red for about a second.' I shuddered at the memory. He stared at me, open-mouthed, a growing look of horror on his face. Then he too, shuddered deeply. 'Kiar, what's wrong?' I finally ventured to ask, worried that I would be crossing another line.

He struggled with himself for a moment, before turning back to me. 'You remember when you asked about choosing sides last night, Alice?' I nodded again. 'I did not want to talk about it then, because I felt a duty to my family, and also it is a sore topic for me. But by refusing to talk of it, and by giving into my anger – I inadvertently came a little closer to choosing my side.'

I tried to gather my thoughts. 'Do you mean that all Kiarkaris have a choice? And their eye colour...it indicates this choice?'

'Yes,' he said sharply, suddenly urgent. 'This is one of our great secrets, and not one we give out readily, Alice. You must promise not to tell anyone, unless it is essential. The King knows of course, and so do a few other trusted humans, but not many. To begin with, all Kiarkaris are born with purple eyes, like mine. As they grow and mature, the majority turn to Red, as they choose the side they are encouraged to from the day they are born. Only a very few choose to turn to Blue. And those that do... well frankly, they don't last long.'

'That's unfair!' I burst out indignantly.

'Yes, it is,' he agreed resignedly. 'But this is Otherland, and there is no place for good deeds here. A Blue Kiarkaris would only sully our reputation.'

'Once you change, can you go back?' I asked in trepidation, already fearful of the answer.

His deep purple eyes were sober. 'No, you can't. If my eyes turn permanently Red, I won't go back. I will have committed myself, heart and soul, to serving the King and his dark kingdom. Nothing that ever spurred me on to reject the bad kind of madness, will affect me again.'

'And if you choose the good, the Blue?' I couldn't help asking.

'I will be killed by my own people,' was the blunt, straightforward reply.

I shook my head, lost for words. 'That – that's not right.'

'Of course it isn't, but there's nothing I can do about it.'

'Kiar, do you think helping me will have an effect on your choice?' I suddenly asked, as that awful thought occurred to me.

'I'm almost completely positive it will.' His voice was strong, and carefully void of emotion, but the fear showed in his eyes.

'You don't have to help me,' I found myself saying, stupidly.

'Yes, I do,' he said with a smile, which soon became serious. 'I can't go back now and pretend nothing ever happened. If I can help you escape without my eyes changing permanently to Blue, then I will be lucky. If not, at least I will have achieved something bigger than I ever imagined. Think of it; outwitting the King himself!'

I couldn't help but smile at his shining eyes. In my opinion, _nothing_ was worse than the evil those Otherlandians had committed all those uncountable years again when they had sentenced so many others to a life of Badness. With a start, I realised that was the answer to Tarrant's riddle. 'Kiar,' I began, 'what is greater than God and more evil than the Devil? The poor have it, the rich need it, and if you eat it you will die.'

He frowned. 'I'm not quite sure who God is, but judging on the others, I would say...nothing.'

The next few hours passed quickly and happily. By tacit agreement, sides were not mentioned again. Instead, I talked about my friends, mostly the ones who'd come to Otherland to rescue me, and of them, mostly the Hatter. Near the end, I noticed that even the goblin was listening. Kiar left when the guard's watch reached six, telling me to get another riddle from Tarrant. But as I closed my eyes and struggled to switch off, I couldn't erase the sudden worry and fear that perhaps, my Mad Hatter had been nothing but a dream...

* * *

The White Queen stood at her favourite balcony, but that night she couldn't concentrate on the beautiful sights and sounds before her. All she could think of was the fact that it had been _eleven days_ since her friends left Underland. Eleven days, in which she'd heard nothing and seen nothing. Even her beloved potions could no longer distract her from the multitude of possibilities, the majority disastrous, running through her head.

The only good thing to come of this, Mirana mused, was the discovery of her dependence on the Oraculum. She was not used to not knowing exactly what was going to happen, and the lack of knowledge had left her...flustered, to say the least. Because of this, she'd refrained from looking at the Oraculum during the past few days, confident that anything at all important was happening in another world entirely. Poor McTwisp had been against it, but the stubborn side of Mirana had prevailed.

Was that yet another bad habit she must cure? Mirana sighed and rested her head in her hands. Something else to change, if she was ever to become the Queen Underland deserved. For not the first time – and probably not the last – Mirana wondered if she would ever, could ever, make up for her past mistakes and regain her status as the _Good_ White Queen of Underland.

A sudden click jolted Mirana from her thoughts. She straightened up and whirled around, to see that the door to her balcony she'd purposefully left open was now closed, and locked. Her brown eyes widened as two figures stepped forward from the shadows, their black clothing showing up clearly against the white marble of the balcony. One raised a fist threateningly, and with a sick feeling in her stomach, all Mirana could do was hold her hands out and her head high. A silent tear ran down her white cheek as she realised she had failed to heed Absolem's words after all – she had put her friends before her duties, despite the warning. So Mirana of Marmoreal wept to herself, as through her own folly, she left her peaceful, oblivious kingdom far behind her.

* * *

**A/N: There's a song quote in here; can anyone find it? : ) Hope you all enjoyed this chapter!**

**xxx**


	15. This Waking Nightmare

**I am so so SO SORRY for this incredibly late update. This is the longest between chapters I've ever had, and I feel horrible about it, honestly. It serves me right if you've all forgotten about this story and moved on, but I really hope you haven't! I'd love to blame it all on writer's block, but someone told me recently that writer's block is just an excuse for lazy writers :P **

**Disclaimer: (Almost) Four months on, and I STILL don't own Alice in Wonderland. *sigh***

**I'm not entirely happy with this chapter, so any reviews at all - even if they're just yelling at me for my extreme, unforgivable lateness - would be greatly appreciated :)**

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Alice in Otherland

Chapter 15 - This Waking Nightmare

The Hatter blinked a few times as the dream-world slowly settled around him - he was still unused to it. Then a wide grin lit up his face as he realised the potion had worked, and he was going to see her again! Lovely, muchy Alice who had been so happy to see him, and who had asked him to come back! He could hardly wait to share the ideas he and his friends had come up with to get her out of the castle - not that they had very many. He wondered if she had answered his riddle yet, and if even after one day apart, she missed him as much as he was missing her.

But as the wispy strands of mist formed into something more substantial, his smile faded as he recognized the place as being half a mile from the great chessboard battlefield. A barren landscape surrounded him, dotted with gnarled blackened trees and the remains of a long-destroyed palace. He shuddered at this memory of how it used to be; now the rightful Queen was back in power and the destructive Jabberwocky gone, these long deserted areas had finally begun to replenish themselves, and thrive. The old marble palace that had once stood on the edge of the Crimson Sea was slowly but steadily being rebuilt, back into the home and paradise it had been sixteen years ago. That was before the Bloody Big Head and the Jabberwocky had destroyed it; killing the Dowager Queen in the process. Of course Alice wouldn't know this, she had only seen Underland at its worst. As he sprinted up the large hill that blocked the chessboard from view, dodging and jumping over columns and stumps, he vowed that when - not if, they would succeed, they had to! - they brought her back to Underland, he would show all the beauty, glory, and wonderful madness of his world, so that maybe, just maybe, she would stay forever.

Tarrant was nearing the top when he heard the first roar, echoing out over the wide valley. His blood ran cold. How could he ever forget the sound of the Jabberwocky?

Reaching the summit, the Hatter watched with a sickening feeling as one of his worst nightmares played out before him. Alice _- the _Alice, possibly _his _Alice - was standing before the Jabberwocky, alone on the battlefield with only the Vorpal Sword in her hand. There was no army to offer help; no friends to offer support; no one to step in and save her life if need be. Only her. And she wasn't even wearing armour! Instead she was dressed in an enormous, satin, beribboned monster of a dress that he could only assume they wore in Upperland, and that was hampering her movement quite a bit.

Fortunately the Jabberwocky circling Alice hadn't seen him yet, so he could use that to his advantage. Drawing the long sword that was now hanging at his waist - when Alice wasn't in danger, he would wonder about the strangeness of dreams - he made his way forward over the rocky uneven ground, as quickly and quietly as possible.

* * *

'Do you really think you can beat me _again?_' the Jabberwocky hissed mockingly at her.

Alice clenched her teeth angrily and nearly tripped over as she moved another step backwards away from the Jabberwock. Of all the dresses she'd worn over the years; why did it have to be the nightmarish red concoction she'd been forced into during her first season 'out', at Lord and Lady Marlingham's August Ball? She'd barely been able to dance the _quadrille_ in it; how was she expected to fight a scaly, dragon-like, purple-fire-breathing creature? Impos-

She raised her sword and struck out at the Jabberwocky before it could speak again and further destroy her confidence. The Vorpal Sword sliced easily through the spines protruding from its head, leaving one side of its face horribly deformed. It howled in outrage, and then suddenly seemed to grow twice as big.

_'Give up human,'_ it snarled, and Alice shut her eyes tight, preparing to pinch her arm to wake herself up from this horrid nightmare even as its angry, gaping jaws opened wider and wider -

'Alice! Get back!'

Her eyes shot open in shock, and she barely registered the sight of someone stepping in between her and the Jabberwocky before they pushed her backwards, out of the way. She just about managed to keep her balance this time, and immediately looked for her rescuer.

The Hatter lost no time in lashing out at the momentarily confused monster, catching its leg. It screeched angrily, but it was already fading. Tarrant felt Alice's eyes on him, and ignoring the urge to make sure she was all right, renewed his furious attack on the monster. It blocked his sword with a claw, but failed to get a grip on it and instead slashed out at him with another razor-sharp talon. He ducked easily, then dodged under the monster and thrust the long sword upwards, between its skinny ribs.

'Tarrant!'

He watched in amazement as the Jabberwocky let out a final roar, before collapsing on its side. Almost immediately the setting changed to the gardens of Marmoreal. He had scarcely time to wonder before he felt someone tug on his arm and pull him around. Then Alice threw her arms around him, and as his own wrapped around her in response, he felt his eyes slowly fade back to green as warmth blossomed in his chest. Pulling back to grin at her, he noticed that she was now wearing a prettier, entirely more practical blue dress.

'You came back,' she said simply, blue eyes shining with delight.

'Of course I did; you asked me to!' he exclaimed, resisting the urge to pick her up and spin her around. Instead, he stepped back politely.

'And you really were here in my dream,' she continued happily. 'I was afraid I had imagined it all.'

'Will there ever be a day when you don't doubt my existence, dear Alice?' he teased lightly, but his eyes, ever expressive, betrayed the hurt he was feeling.

She looked up at him, eyes stricken. 'I'm sorry Tarrant - I really am, I - '

'It's fine,' he gently shushed her, hating to see her sad. 'This is a dream after all - although it's definitely one of my favourite ones.'

A small smile crept over her face. 'How do you know its one of your favourites? It's barely begun.'

'Because you're in it,' he replied innocently, giving her another of the wide, gap-toothed grins she loved.

She smiled again, not quite sure how to reply with words. So instead she held out a hand to him; he took it gladly, and they began to walk through the gardens. For Tarrant, that was all the reply he needed. Alice purposely began to talk again in an attempt to ignore the warm, fluttery feeling that rushed through her, making her heart beat strangely fast.

'I think I know a way for me to escape from the castle - it was Kiar's idea.'

The Hatter's eyes lit up. 'That's wonderful, Alice! We've been considering words to do with 'escape' too, but none have been given Absolem's approval yet. I was getting rather worried because we want to get you out of that horrible place as quickly as possible and the others were being no help apart from maybe Chess-'

'Tarrant!' she interrupted, squeezing his hand tighter. He immediately cut short his ramble and looked at her gratefully.

'Thank you, Alice. I'm fine. Now tell me your wonderful plan!'

She looked at him doubtfully, but he seemed to have recovered so she went on. 'Kiar suggested that he could fly you all to Karzaron at night, together. No one will think anything of it if they see him flying overhead, and he can land safely on one of the battlements and then guide you through the castle to the dungeons!'

Tarrant was nodding before she even finished speaking. 'Marvellous, Alice! I should dearly like to meet this Kiar - he sounds very muchy.'

'He is,' Alice agreed, and then frowned. 'What will happen if you meet any guards on your way to the dungeons though? He may not be able to help you - if anyone finds out about his part in this the King will kill him!'

'Don't worry Alice; we'll fight them off,' the Hatter said with more confidence than he felt. 'We have Chessur's invisibility and Thackery's spoons on our side after all.'

She bit her lip worriedly. 'But the All-Seeing Hounds will still be able to sense Chessur…and what about your wrist?'

'Almost as good as new,' Tarrant lied. In fact it still throbbed painfully throughout the day, and even Absolem could do nothing more for it while in Otherland. He had grown used to the steady ache, but it was only in this strange dream-land with Alice that he could completely forget about it. He smiled brightly at her. 'And anyway, it's not as if I'll need it. My sword arm is still perfectly uninjured and I have Mally and Thackery to watch my back, while I watch their's.'

'I can't really stop you, can I?' she asked ruefully, keeping her eyes on the green and white hedgerows in front of them.

'Not when it comes to rescuing you - we'll do whatever it takes, Alice. Just so long as you get back to Underland safely.'

Without warning tears rose in Alice's eyes, as the enormity of what her friends had done - and were still willing to do - for her sake hit her. 'I don't deserve you - any of you!' she cried suddenly, wiping roughly at her eyes with her sleeve and hating how helpless she was in the face of so much danger. 'You're all so willing to put yourselves in terrible danger for me, despite only having known me for a few days really, even with all the trouble I've caused you a-and even though I keep leaving you…'

'Alice,' the Hatter said firmly, stopping by a white rosebush and turning her to face him. He tried to hold onto his self-control - very difficult when Alice was in _tears _- as she needed him sane and muchy to help her hold onto _her_ muchness. It was imperative that she stop thinking such silly, untrue thoughts! _The_ Alice undeserving? Never had he heard a more ridiculous notion; and he would be tempted to laugh outright at it had it not been for the tears still threatening to cascade down her beautiful, gold-framed face. He took courage from the white roses mouthing encouragement over her shoulder, and continued on. '_Never_ say that - never even think it! You deserve all the kindness and help we can give you, and much more. You who saved us all; you fought the Jabberwocky for us even though _you_ barely knew _us_! We asked a lot of you on your first visit, and now this is our chance to repay you.' Gently he raised her chin up, so her dark brown eyes met his earnest green ones. With his injured hand he brushed away a tear that had escaped, and the Scottish brogue slipped out. 'Ah woul' die a thousand times over fer yeh, and nae regret it once.' His eyes flickered violet again briefly, and he swallowed hard. 'Dinnae lose yer muchness, Alice. '

'I won't,' she promised him softly, and smiled her lovely enchanting Alice-smile at him. 'I would die for you too.'

What was it about Alice that always made his heart beat so fast it threatened to burst out of his chest? It wasn't an unpleasant feeling; just a strange one, he decided. A special Alice-feeling, reserved for only her. A voice in his head perked up at this, quickly suggesting; _Perhaps now is the right time to tell her that you lo- _Tarrant inwardly glared at the voice, sternly telling it to be quiet or he'd feed it to the Granesmrars.

Without warning, the scene around them changed to the Tea Party. Alice looked around with delight, while Tarrant grinned and pulled her chair out for her, waiting until she was seated before he too sat down. The tablecloth was stained and ragged with more food on it than on the plates, and a pile of broken tea cups teetered dangerously on the far side of the table, but neither cared, or noticed. The Hatter reached across for the tea pot with only one crack and turned to Alice, clothes instantly brighter. 'I've always wondered what dream-food tastes like. Tea, my dear?'

She grinned back, and raised her cup. 'How could I say no?'

* * *

Time in the Dream-land moved slowly, but all too soon Alice felt the pull from the _real_ world. Sitting on the sand before the Crimson Sea, with her head resting against Tarrant's shoulder - when had that happened? - she shuddered as an angry voice shattered the peaceful image before her.

_Up, yeh useless piles of filth! You've slept long enough already!_

Tarrant turned to look at her as she lifted her head, eyes darkening to a deep blue. 'They're calling you now, aren't they?' he lisped sadly.

'I'm sorry, Tarrant.'

''Tis nae yer fault, lass.' He stood up quickly and extending a hand, helped her to her feet.

'Tomorrow night then?' she asked, a hopeful promise in her eyes.

He smiled half-heartedly, unable to muster a proper Underlandian gap-toothed grin. 'Tomorrow night.'

She knew him too well for him to fool her. 'Oh Tarrant, don't be sad! Just think; in only a few more hours we'll beseeing each other in reality,and we'll be back in Underland!' She couldn't keep the excitement out of her voice, nor her eyes from shining as she held onto his hands tightly.

His own eyes lit up and the dark shadows under them reverted to their usual colours at the thought. Underland! _With Alice! _He couldn't contain his excitement either, and honestly he didn't want to. 'Truly Alice, I can hardly wait! Everyone will be so happy to see you back where you belong - for you do belong in Underland instead of dreary Upperland, I do beg your pardon if that offends you but it's - '

'Hatter!' Alice laughed, reaching out to brush a flyaway orange curl back into place. Of course, it sprung out again almost immediately. 'I know I belong more in Underland than Upperland - that's why I'm staying this time.' _That's another reason why I'm staying, _she thought, as her heartbeat sped up again. _There's no one in Upperland who would ever, could ever, look happier that I'm choosing their world than the Hatter. No one cares as much, _she realised with a jolt, and a pang. His joyous expression faded slightly as she watched him and he seemed on the verge of saying something, or perhaps deciding to say something; but then she felt the summons again more urgently as back in Otherland, her body struggled to wake up. Not wanting to spend their last moments apart, Alice stepped forward into his warm arms.

'I can hardly wait either; but please, try not to kill time again,' she whispered to him, and heard his answering chuckle as she rested her head on his shoulder again.

Holding on tightly and fading faster, the Champion of Underland squeezed her eyes shut. But as the world dissolved into darkness around her, a warm, soft touch brushed her cheek, and the ghost of a whisper echoed in her ears like a caress. _Fairfarren…_

Then she was awake; curled into a ball on her hard, cold bunk and surrounded by the sounds of a prison.

Tarrant raised a hand to his still-tingling lips, half over the moon, half regretting his impulsive action. He wasn't even sure if she'd felt it - she had been almost gone. Then he closed his eyes as he too spiralled out and away from the Dream-land, back to the harsh, for-the-moment-Alice-less nightmarish reality of the Otherland.

* * *

Kiar landed noiselessly in the designated clearing, all senses alert for danger. No one had seen him as he descended into the forest, and the only movement came from the far side of the clearing where the Underlandians were. The day had been torturously slow, with the Champion as nervous as he, but at last the clock had struck eleven and he had taken off from the grounds of the Fortress.

He watched as the Underlandians came forward, hiding his excitement at the sight of them. Alice had told him so much about all of them; he was only sorry that he would never see them again after tonight. They came to a stop in front of him, in the middle of the clearing and driven by the good manners he'd had drilled into him before entering the King's court, he bowed his head. 'My name is Kiar.'

The man who must be the Hatter stepped forward and bowed in return, before straightening up and grinning widely at him. 'Tarrant Hightopp, and delighted to make your acquaintance! Alice has told me a great deal about you. If her words are true which I'm sure they are then you have a great deal of muchness.'

Kiar liked him immediately. 'Thank you,' he replied, slightly nonplussed. He still didn't completely understand "muchness"; but it was obviously the highest of compliments, in Alice and Tarrant's minds anyway. Then he was distracted as a flicker of blue rose up from the man's shoulder, coming to land on a branch before him. Piercing blue eyes bore into his, and Kiar instantly knew and acknowledged that this was one of the rare few he had met that were superior to him.

'I am Absolem,' the butterfly stated and Kiar dipped his head respectfully.

'Mallymkun,' a voice squeaked, and the Dormouse Alice had told him about jumped down onto the Hatter's other shoulder, from his Hat. He noticed she was looking at him warily, and keeping a paw on the hatpin by her side. He supposed he couldn't really blame her. A quivering hare - the March Hare - hopped out from behind Tarrant and nervously introduced himself as 'Thackery-Earwicket-Spoon'.

The last creature to appear was the Cat, who appeared from thin air next to Tarrant. Kiar took a startled step backwards, before regaining his composure. The Cat grinned, revealing sharp, brilliantly white teeth. 'How do you do? The name's Chessur.' Then he was gone again.

'How is Alice?' Tarrant asked suddenly, and Kiar turned his attention back to the man he knew Alice cared for deeply - although she had never said it outright. He was dressed in the brightest, most colourful clothes he had ever seen in Otherland, and was fiddling nervously with an array of hatpins and thimbles on his hands. And his Hat was just as Alice had described it; gloriously mad.

'She was fine when I left her,' he told the man, who visibly relaxed. 'She is awaiting your arrival eagerly.'

'Then let's not waste another moment!' the Dormouse cried and jumped onto his back easily. Absolem flew over to land on his right antler, while the Hatter and Thackery climbed up behind Mallymkun.

Chessur materialized again, blinking lazily. 'I'll make my own way if you don't mind, Kiar,' he drawled, fading until only his grin remained.

'Thank you for doing this,' Tarrant said suddenly, as the Kiarkaris prepared to take off. 'Alice told me of the terrible danger we are putting you in and I - we - are very grateful to you.' His words were sincere, and pride blossomed in Kiar's chest as he listened to them. 'Oh, and well done for figuring out the riddle,' he added.

Kiar smiled, and his eyes flashed a brief blue that no one saw. 'It was easy.'

The Hatter laughed merrily. 'Well then, I'll have to ask you harder ones! Let's see…what is once in a minute, twice in a moment, and never in a thousand years?'

Kiar pushed off from the ground and spread his wings, considering the riddle. 'I've got it!' he exclaimed. 'It's the letter M.'

'Damn,' the Hatter muttered. 'All right, here's another one; I am large as a castle, yet lighter than air. 100 men and their horses cannot move me. What am I?'

Kiar frowned as he glided through the air. 'I might need longer to think about that one.'

'Oh, I know it!' Mallymkun cried. She climbed onto the Hatter's shoulder and whispered into his ear.

He nodded happily. 'Yes, yes, well done Mally!'

'I'll figure it out,' Kiar vowed. 'By the time we reach Karzaron.'

'Now that's not really fair; you could just take twice as long to reach it,' the Hatter pointed out.

'And have twice the risk of being caught? Not likely,' the Otherlandian replied scornfully. 'I would never risk Alice's chance of escape just for the sake of a _riddle._'

'If we thought you would, we would be finding our own way to her by now,' Absolem said curtly.

'Don't mind him, he's just nervous,' Mally stage-whispered to Kiar with a grin.

'I am _not_,' Absolem huffed, fluttering his wings crossly.

'We're all nervous,' Tarrant amended, and no one could really argue with that.

They flew on in silence, soaring through the dark skies like a shadow. And Kiar smirked, as he finally solved the riddle.

* * *

Across the stark wasteland of the North, a lone figure can be seen making his way. He walks steadily; never doubting his path, never sparing a glance for those who cross it. Those unlucky few who do flee without a second thought, and he does not care. In truth, he welcomes it. As of this moment he does not have a specific destination, but this does not concern him either. He wanders where he will, knowing that before too long he will encounter someone who cannot run from him and then he will take what would eventually be his anyway. For he holds the ultimate power, and pays allegiance to no one. Untouchable, invincible, he passes on.

Darkness surrounds him like a veil; tendrils of black mist mark the ground where he walks. His sometimes allies, Fear and Panic, often follow in his wake. If he needs them he will call them at a moment's notice, but for now he is content to let them continue his dark work separately.

A crow flying overhead immediately veers off to the side at the sight of him, and a cold smirk mars the pale translucent skin stretched tightly across the bones of his face. _Too late, little bird._ Pausing for a split second to enjoy the sweet taste of the emotion of fear, he raises the skeletal hand that holds his scythe. It flashes through the air once; severing the ties between soul and body, and then the crow drops down dead onto the stony earth.

Death directs the sobbing soul to its final resting place, and then continues on his way. He is about to call Deimos and Phobos back to him, when another summons him. Looking to the south he detects the voice of the human King; the Thirteen-Year King. His sharp pointed teeth form the shape of a smile, but no humour shows in his black, almost-human eyes. If the King is calling him, he must be expecting bloodshed in the near future. He knows that his ally Death would not want to miss the festivities.

Shrouding himself in his black cloak and wondering idly what the King is up to now, it only takes one thought for the Creature of the Darkness to spirit himself away from the northern wasteland to the bloody Fortress of the South that he had helped create; Karzaron.

* * *

**Deimos and Phobos are the names of the Greek gods (or personifications) of Panic/Terror and Fear. They're the sons of Ares and would often accompany him to the battlefield, but here I've written them as allies, or companions of Death because I think they'd fit in quite well as that :) I hope that doesn't bother anyone, and that the above passage didn't freak you out...**

**I'll try to get the next chapter up soon, I promise! :)**


	16. Fight & Flight

**Sorry for the long wait in between chapters again, but this is probably what its gonna be like from now on. A chapter every two weeks about, though who knows, maybe the coursework and homework will ease off slightly, and I'll have the next chapter up within a week! Fingers crossed :D Thanks to everyone who reviewed, I'm so happy to see you're still interested in this story! And thanks to those who favourited, story-alerted or read it as well, you guys are awesome too :)**

**Did you guys see Alice in Wonderland won two Oscars this year? Thats pretty great :D It got one for Best Art Direction (beating HP7, Inception & The King's Speech, & True Grit) and won the Costume Design award as well! It was nominated for Visual Effects as well, but lost that one to Inception. **

**Thanks to Naomily4EVA, my awesome, long-suffering unofficial Beta :D **

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything, it's all Tim Burton :)**

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Chapter 16 - Fight & Flight

Marching back and forth before the black iron Gates, one of the many All-Seeing Hounds paused, raised his ugly head and tasted the night air. He was a massive, strong beast; one of the finest the King possessed and stood about three foot at the shoulder. Baring the yellow fangs too big for his mouth he growled at the shadow flying above, attracting the attention of the handlers. One of them hurried forward and placed a restraining hand on him. 'What is it, Leiko?' Leiko growled again, more at the sheer _impudence_ of the handler daring to touch him than the possible threat crossing the air boundaries. He must be new to the job; otherwise he would have seen and heard enough to keep his distance. He kept his eyes trained on the black, winged creature.

The dim-witted man followed his gaze, before his fearful expression turned to derision and he laughed scornfully at the Hound. 'It's just a Kiarkaris - nothing to fear. And from the looks of it, the King's mount too. I would have thought you'd know better than that, Leiko.' Clapping the Hound roughly on the shoulder he walked back over to the other handlers, resuming their conversation.

Leiko snarled at the man as he walked off, then turned away in disgust, the black spiky hairs on the back of his neck rising. He had better things to think about than the uselessness and stupidity of the King's humans. For example, as his sharp night vision once again focused in on the shape he'd spied passing beneath the clouds; who were the bright, colourful people stinking of not-Otherland and riding on the back of the Kiarkaris? What was their purpose in Otherland, or did they even have one? A savage grin crept over his face and his mouth began to slaver in anticipation. It didn't matter to him who they were really - everyone was an enemy, one way or another.

'Leiko! Back to work!' the handler barked, and received yet another dangerous glare. Very well; if they wanted to ignore him and his supreme wisdom, then so be it. _You'll be sorry later_. Casting a last glance upwards, the Hound returned to his task of guarding the land, soon forgetting about the mysterious visitors.

Up on the battlements, Kiar glided down and alighted on the cold stone, his hooves careful to make the barest noise against the ground. The Hatter breathed a sigh of relief and then dismounted. He looked around, and shivered. So this was Karzaron; the Castle where Pure Evil reigned…he had thought it not impossible - nothing was impossible after all! - but incredibly unlikely than any place could ever appear more forbidding and terrifying to him than Salazen Grum, but here in Karzaron, the Red Fortress of the Bloody Big Head had finally met its match. Ignoring his sudden fear and focusing on the overwhelming desire to _help-save-care for-protect_ Alice, he helped Thackery down from Kiar's back and followed him over to the large door half-hidden in the wall. At Kiar's whispered command it opened, and they all passed through into a small room.

Chessur materialised in front of them, a wide grin on his face. 'Stage one, _complete!_'

'Do yeh think they saw us?' Thackery asked anxiously.

Kiar shook his head. 'I saw one of the All-Seeing Hounds look up, but the guards didn't listen to him. His job is to guard the land, after all.'

'What about other Kiarkaris?' Absolem asked, taking off from Kiar's antler to land gracefully on the back of a chair.

Kiar frowned. 'I saw a few in the skies, but none that took any interest.'

'You might be wrong about that,' Chessur warned him, floating closer to the door, and then through it. Thackery's ears twitched and one perked up, standing on end. Suddenly he let out a startled yelp, ducking behind Tarrant seconds before Chessur reappeared.

'Hide,' was all he said before vanishing in a flash. Without a second thought Tarrant grabbed Thackery and Mallymkun - who had the good sense to muffle her squeak of protest - and pushed them into a small cupboard before crawling in after them and pulling the doors closed, only pausing to let Absolem fly through too. The cupboard was only waist high so both he and Thackery were horribly cramped, with the latter perched on his legs that were drawn up tightly to his chest. At that moment he couldn't help envying both Mally and Absolem for their size.

Kiar swung around to face the door just as it opened, drawing himself up to his full, imposing height and fixing the intruder with eyes of cold steel.

The other Kiarkaris stepped fully inside, allowing the door to close behind him before bowing to the higher-ranking creature, as court manners demanded.

'Greetings, Cousin.'

Kiar bowed his head in return, allowing a moment's pause to show his superiority, 'Arain. What brings you here?'

'You, of course,' Arain replied smoothly. 'It is my duty to the King to patrol the skies tonight, and I must ask you what your purpose is in entering through the battlements, when there is a perfectly good balcony leading straight to the King's throne room.' As he spoke his red eyes flickered around the room, searching for something, or someone.

'I wonder you took the time,' the Underlandians heard Kiar replied coolly. 'This…route, was simply the most convenient for my entrance, and lay in my path of return.' A note of danger entered his voice, and Thackery shuddered. 'I was not aware that it would become a problem.'

Arain smiled tightly. 'It is no problem at all cousin, I assure you. If I may ask; where are you retur- '

'You may not,' Kiar cut him off sharply. He cursed his momentary slip and once again his voice became calm and controlled. 'I go where my King commands, and defy him not.'

The intruder smirked mockingly. 'Of course, _Kiar.' _He was both smaller and younger than Kiar, and the purple-eyed Kiarkaris knew he could defeat his cousin easily in a fight, but his red eyes glinted unpleasantly as he once more looked around the room. 'Was there anyone accompanying you on your journey? I thought I caught a glimpse of someone on your back out there.'

'You must have been mistaken, Arain. I travelled alone, as you can see now.'

'You would not be averse then, to me searching the room?'

Kiar's mind whirled frantically for a fraction of a second, then second nature took over and he laughed arrogantly, looking down at his inferior with cold amusement, and the superiority he had been born to. 'You would question the truth of my words, Arain?'

Arain flinched and stepped backwards as Kiar's eyes blazed purple, and he unfurled his wings with slow menace. His words were a low, cruel hiss. 'Do not forget who I am, youngling. You would be wise to abandon your petty insults and return to your duties.'

The red-eyed Kiarkaris bared his long teeth, but could only bow in angry submission. Without another word he exited the room, flying back into the night skies.

Kiar remained where he stood, glaring after his meddlesome cousin before the sound of the Underlandians scrambling out of the closet roused him and he relaxed, wings settling back against his sides. He turned to see Alice's friends regarding him with half-scared, half-admiring expressions.

The Dormouse broke the awkward silence, grinning suddenly. 'Boy, I wouldn't like to have _you _for an enemy.'

Tarrant let out a short, high-pitched laugh and Thackery giggled along with him. Even Absolem smiled. 'That was well done, Kiar.'

He nodded uncomfortably, and attempted a small smile. 'Thank you…it was necessary.'

'I don't think he'll come back now,' Mallymkun added gleefully, twirling her hatpin. 'Are all your family like that?'

'Most of them,' he admitted.

'Do they all have red eyes, too?' she asked curiously.

'Yes - all of them.' Trying to gloss over the subject, he quickly asked; 'Are you all right?'

Tarrant smiled, stretching his arms out. 'Sore and cramped, but alive,' he replied cheerfully. 'Are we ready to go?'

'I'll go first,' Chessur cut in before the others got a chance to reply. 'To check for danger.'

'Good cat,' Thackery beamed, and said good cat rolled his eyes before fading into the other door.

'Show off,' Tarrant muttered.

'Do all the Cats in Underland disappear?' Kiar asked with interest.

'They all possess the talent to some degree,' Absolem replied. 'Whether it makes itself known is another matter.'

'Chessur _is _exceptionally good at it,' Mallymkun acknowledged grudgingly. 'Something he never fails to remind us all of.'

'He must be very useful to you.'

Tarrant's face darkened. 'Aye, when tha' _guddler's scut _wants ta be-'

'Language, Hatta!'

'So sorry, Mally. I suppose he has been less of a good fer naught coward lately - '

'_Hatter!'_

'Right, yes, thank you. I'm fine.' _Tea, _the Hatter thought_. I need some good, proper, Underlandian tea. _He caught Thackery's eye, and they exchanged a mad smile knowing their thoughts were exactly the same.

* * *

_Alice_

I paced back and forth in my cell, ignoring the annoyed grunts from the current guard. I couldn't stop thinking about Tarrant, Kiar and all my other friends - had they made it to the castle? Where they safe? Were they on their way?

I groaned, dropping down onto my bed and resting my head in my hands. Being the damsel in distress was horrible; suddenly, fighting a Jabberwocky seemed much more appealing. I wished I still had my pocket watch, so I could at least have an idea of how long they'd be gone…but it probably wouldn't have worked, anyway. Tarrant had told me that watches in Underland were made specifically to cope with the madness; as opposed to my poor made-in-Upperland one that was sadly lacking in butter.

Unable to keep still, I fidgeted with my sleeve, the purple and black one today. Then I moved my hand to the hard frame of the bed and began to tap it restlessly, not in any particular tune or pattern, more as a way to get rid of the tension building up than anything else. Somehow, it helped a little. The guard endured this for almost five minutes before finally snapping.

'Stop that bloody racket now!' the troll yelled, his small piggy eyes glaring at me murderously and his tusks suddenly appearing more prominent. I scowled back at him, but stopped quickly. Only one more night, only a few more hours, and then Underland.

_Underland._

The name was like a cool, refreshing breeze... Beautiful, like the place it represented. After all I'd gone through to get to this point, the idea of actually _going home _was so foreign; it seemed like one of those wonderful dreams forever out of reach. I almost didn't want to believe it, in case something went wrong with the plan.

_But at least, _some sarcastic, not-funny part of my mind commented, _if something does go wrong you won't have very long at all to feel disappointed. _

'Shut up!' I yelled at it, not caring about manners, or that I was talking to myself. I was already mad; almost but not quite as mad as a hatter.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw the guard roll his eyes and mutter _'Underlandians' _scornfully. Too consumed with worry and nerves to be angry with him, I curled up on my bank again, closing my eyes and hoping that if I went to sleep the next thing I'd see would be the Hatter's beautifully happy face grinning at me and holding my way back home.

* * *

'Coast clear!' Chessur hissed, and instantly they were out the door, making their way stealthily down the corridor. Kiar guided them safely down a flight of stairs, and from there to a small passageway on the right. Though they said he could go, he insisted on staying with them until they got to the throne room at least.

At last the horribly narrow passage ended, and they emerged into a blood-red hall leading to more staircases.

As they were about to descend from the second floor - Alice's cell lay beneath the ground one - Chessur suddenly returned. 'Men at bottom of stairs,' he whispered quickly. 'Ambush?'

Tarrant nodded, and Chessur vanished again with a sly grin. Slowly they crept down, to see a couple of soldiers chatting casually as they walked out from one of the doors. They froze when they saw the strange group, and one opened his mouth to call for reinforcements but his cry never even left his throat. In a flash Chessur was there, cutting it off and attacking any part of him he could reach - which was really everywhere, since he was still floating in the air. The other man fumbled for his sword uselessly, barely able to raise it in time to protect himself from Tarrant's onslaught. The fight was short and clean, with the man soon knocked out by the flat of Tarrant's blade. For good measure, Thackery also smashed a teacup over his head. Wiping a decidedly less clean hatpin on the first man's sleeve, Mallymkun asked what to do with the bodies. Two minutes later, both men had been stuffed into a chest and with Chessur's help locked in, but there was nothing they could do about the rapidly spreading red stains on the floor. However Kiar assured them that bloodshed was normal in Karzaron, and no one would think anything of it. Shuddering at what this implied, the Underlandians pushed the chest into an empty, locked room and then they were off again.

When they reached the first floor of the castle, Kiar recognized the place as the east wing of the north-facing castle. Thinking briefly, he led them further east; away from the stairs by the throne room to another set on the outskirts of the castle, mainly used by the servants. As it was, he had to duck to avoid the low ceiling.

Glancing around warily, Kiar directed them right, and then left. The floor here was cold, bare stone, a sharp contrast to the rich carpet above. The doors they passed were plain and unadorned, with angry shouts echoing from behind them. Tarrant flinched as something heavy collided with the other side of the wood next to them, and he looked at Kiar questioningly, who sighed.

'Kitchens,' he explained, not noticing the mad grin that lit up Thackery's face. 'Apparently _throwing_ it makes the food taste better.'

'Aye!' the Hare agreed happily. 'Nothin' like a good ol' batterin' ta get the air in!'

'It works for tea too,' the Hatter added cheerfully. 'Are we almost at the dungeons?'

'Almost,' Kiar promised, taking another left. He continued to speak, his voice barely above a whisper. 'This way leads us to the entrance hall, and from there you can get to the dungeons. The outer door is the second on your right when you enter from this direction, and will be unguarded. But when you get through - '

He froze as faint voices sounded in his head, and strained to hear more. The voices were steadily coming closer, and he heard the low grunts and clink of cold metal that accompanied them just as his eyes registered the corridor leading off to the right, and the red and gold tapestry to his left. There was no more time to think; just act.

Without warning he pushed the tapestry hanging innocently on the wall aside with his antlers, revealing a hidden door set in the wall. '_Go!_' he hissed, motioning to it as best he could.

'Who are they?' Mally asked, forgetting to be quiet. At the sound of her voice the footsteps sped up, the low grunts turning into confused roars, and the Dormouse clapped her tiny paws to her mouth in horror.

'Who goes there? Halt, by order of the King!'

With a whimper, Thackery made the first move, scrambling under the tapestry and tugging at the Hatter's trouser leg as he went. He pushed the small door open and hopped through it, holding it for his friends. Tarrant scooped Mally up and followed, shooting a worried look backwards at Kiar. 'Come on, Kiar!'

Kiar glanced at the corner where any second the soldiers could come hurtling around, and made a quick decision. The tapestry was just settling back into place when the patrol appeared, lumbering to a stop beside it. Confused murmurs filled the air, as they were confronted with the empty corridor.

The leader, a Minotaur called Rorkorthlin who Alice had seen briefly and barely escaped from in the forest, looked around too, before snarling a command at his soldiers. They obeyed immediately, setting off in the direction that the Underlandians had come and soon moving out of earshot.

Back behind the tapestry, they all breathed a sigh of relief. However a second later Kiar was urging them to hurry on and then they were sprinting through the long, dark channel, dodging shadowy objects and dusty cobwebs as they went. The secret passageway slanted to their left, leading them in a diagonal direction away from the main corridor they'd just left.

'Do they know about this way?' Tarrant asked between breaths.

'No; very few do,' Kiar replied. 'And only those who know what they're looking for will find it.'

'I'm assuming you know where this takes us, Kiar?' Absolem's inpassive voice floated down from above them, his rapidly fluttering wings only a flickering glow in the dimly lit passageway.

'I would not lead you down it otherwise.'

'You could have left us there; gone on,' Mally said, holding onto the Hat for dear life. She looked up at him curiously. 'Why didn't you?'

'There's still some things you need to know, if you are to reach Alice,' he answered, almost stumbling in shock as the Cat appeared smoothly before them, by the exit. He held the door open and ready, and they gratefully rushed out of the musty, murky compressed area, into another wide corridor like the previous one.

'They're not here yet,' Chessur informed them, worry clear in his eyes if not his voice. 'But they're on their way.'

'We have a few more minutes,' Kiar assured them quickly. 'We took the short cut. But they will round that corner soon, and then I must leave you.' Tarrant attempted to interrupt, but Kiar didn't pause. 'You must go straight on from here until you reach the entrance hall - there, it's partly visible already - and now it's the third door on your right. As I was saying, the outer door will be fine but at the first bend the King's men will be waiting for you, and guarding a spiral staircase. At the bottom of it lies the second line of defence. More guards and perhaps even an All-Seeing Hound will be there, ready to attack and hungry for blood. Alice's cell lies to the right; down the central passage, to the first left and down another set of stairs, then right, left, second right, left again, and count thirteen barred cells before slipping between cells thirteen and fourteen. If you know where to look, a third staircase will open for you there. Count down eleven steps; then wait for six and a half seconds. After that, you have five seconds to cover the next four steps or they'll disappear and drop you into a pit lined with poisoned stakes. The Champion's cell is through the metal doors directly in front of you, and the password is _Emrisia_.'

'Got it,' Chessur nodded. 'And there'll be a guard in with her?'

'Undoubtedly.'

Tarrant frowned; the password sounded oddly familiar to him. He wondered where he had heard that word - no, _name_ - before. For some reason, it felt important.

'Thank you for your help, Kiar,' Absolem said solemnly. 'We may yet meet again; in another life, perhaps.' He flew off, hovering at the other end of the corridor before Kiar had a chance to say goodbye in return.

'_Fairfarren _friend,' Tarrant stepped forward and said sincerely, bowing to the Kiarkaris. 'You have our gratitude for your kindness concerning the Alice; now and forever more.'

'Best of luck, Kiar,' Mally nodded to him, her hatpin at the ready. 'I would have liked to see you in battle before we go; but who knows what the future will hold?'

'Twas an honour,' Thackery declared, bowing far less smoothly than Tarrant. 'Come join us for tea!'

He couldn't help but grin at the warm, welcoming invitation. 'I would love to-'

'I'll finish up the goodbyes by telling you that you'll always be welcome in Underland, if you choose to visit,' Chessur interrupted impatiently. 'The guards will be here soon, and I don't like the look of that Minotaur.'

'You must hurry on now,' Kiar said, listening hard to the approaching rumbles. 'I'll delay them as best I can.'

'Is there anything we can do for you?' Tarrant asked earnestly, as his friends began to back away towards the hall. He remained, stubbornly looking to Kiar for his reply.

'Tell Alice - tell her I wish her all the happiness she deserves in Underland,' Kiar answered, his throat constricting suddenly and painfully. They'd said goodbye and _fairfarren_ earlier, aware that they may never see each other again, but it was only now that it was really sinking in. Before, it had only felt like he was leaving for everyday duties and would return soon. Now, it felt like _goodbye._ 'And that no matter what happens, I regret nothing. Now _go!_'

Mally raised a hand in salute to him; the Hat was raised respectfully; and then his last links with Underland were sprinting around the far corner and disappearing from his sight.

Once more straightening up, Kiar raced off in the other direction, meeting the patrol head on. 'They went that way!' he bellowed, indicating a passage branching off from the main one. 'Go!'

'Should we alert the King, sir?' an armoured lynx growled.

_'No!_' Kiar snarled in reply, and began to spin his web of lies. 'Of course he already knows about the invasion, fools! He wants _us _to hunt them down.'

'Then what are we standing here for?' Rorkorthlin roared, glaring around at the others. 'After them!'

Kiar grinned to himself as they thundered past; the power and fear the King held over his subjects was always entertaining to behold. His smile faded and turned grim as he thought again of Alice, and her friends. Soon his part would be played; and they would be free and happy living their lives as they wished to, never again speaking or even talking of their fleeting stay in Otherland. The good along with the terrible of Otherland would be forgotten, and he would never see them again. Kiar could see the beautiful lightness that had come into his life so briefly fading away, and some part of him urged himself to chase after it; to capture and keep it forever.

He shook his head, disgusted with himself and his selfish thoughts. What was he thinking? It was only fitting that the light, the _good_ kind of madness left with its bearers. It was only fair.

Sighing Kiar loped forward until he had settled into a steady run, following the sounds of the patrol up ahead. The Champion would return to light and love and Underland, just as she deserved. And himself? He would become nothing more than a distant, dark memory in the back of their minds; a nightmare buried deep and locked up tighter, just where it deserved.

* * *

**I hope all the directions don't confuse you guys too much :-/ I had to keep consulting and editing my little map, I'm thinking of drawing a huge one for the entire castle... I would post it up on my profile, but I have no idea how to get it onto the internet or computer or anything like that, sorry :( I'd love to hear what you guys thought of this chapter!**

**xxx**


	17. Turnings of Time and Dungeons

Warnings: Lots of action :)

****24th August,** just a quick edit as I only noticed now I left in an extra draft-paragraph that I should have deleted near the end. Sorry about that, hope it hasn't disrupted your reading that much :-/

* * *

Chapter 17 - Turnings of Time and Dungeons

_The narrow passageway long concealed behind the tapestry breathed a sigh of relief as the last of the interlopers hopped through the door, leaving its inhabitants to a blessed murky silence. However, only a few minutes later the still darkness was once again disturbed by a shadow detaching itself from the others. It slipped out and away through one of the many tunnels enclosed in the castle walls, one thought rebounding in its mind._

Just as Kiar had predicted, the first corridor was deserted. The entrance hall had also been empty when the Underlandians crept in and remained empty when they raced out. Chessur raised a claw to his lips and edged forward before vanishing. Tarrant drew his sword silently knowing that on his Hat, Mally was doing the same. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Thackery readying his ladle, the maddened eyes focusing on the bend ahead. Chessur reappeared then, nodded and as one they moved forward.

Tarrant's left hand throbbed as a reminder of his last major battle as if it sensed what they were about to throw themselves in to. 'Remember friends,' he whispered just over his breath - if under breath was a phrase, why couldn't over his breath be one too? Such was his reasoning - 'one of us must reach Alice!'

'I ain't leaving no one behind!' Mally rejoined fiercely, but was simultaneously silenced by glares from Absolem and Chessur.

'Don't forget it is Alice who is trapped without a means of escape,' Absolem reprimanded her coolly. 'The very _reason_ we are here.'

'If something is to go wrong we have our Jabberwocky blood,' the Cat added, all joviality vanished from his voice. He floated closer so that his next words were a low hiss in their ears. 'The dear Champion has nothing but a cell and chains. So reserve your valiance for her Mallymkun, unpleasant as it may seem.'

The Dormouse glowered resentfully at the pair of them, hating to admit they were right. It was Tarrant's next words that completely broke through her stubbornness though - she never could refuse him anything when that desperation appeared.

'_Please_, Mally.'

Her beady gaze flickered to the Hatter and the hints of light blue and orange in his eyes; mind made up she nodded once and gestured for them to continue. Tarrant flashed her a quick grin before a discreet rustle at the bend called him back to their purpose in the castle. Exchanging a grim nod with Chessur he lifted his sword and charged.

_For Alice! _The voices in his head cheered.

The Otherlandian soldiers were quick to respond to the attack, but a dry spell of invasions and rescue attempts had made them complacent and one man was already down by the time the other three had drawn their swords. Identical steel clashed together; same techniques, same craftsmanship but for the emblem set into the pommels. The fight did not last long for the Otherlandians had another disadvantage. They had not been trained to fight against fiercely tiny opponents, ladles wielded by decidedly mad Hares or even madmen and vanishing Cats.

Even through the general confusion and mayhem Tarrant strove to avoid causing unnecessary bloodshed, preferring to knock his opponents unconscious. All too soon three of the four men were down and Chessur was yelling for them to go onto the stairs. The spiral staircase was long but it gave them a chance to catch their breath before the inevitable second attack. Their footsteps were muffled by the thick stone walls around them, which got steadily grimier and blacker as they descended.

Chessur halted them again before the last bend motioning for them to be silent, without a hair out of place.

'How many men?' Mally mouthed.

He held up two cleaned claws.

'That's all?' The disbelief was clear in both Tarrant and Mally's faces.

The Cat rolled his eyes and sighed irritably quashing their hopes just as quickly. 'Only two _men_,' he hissed in their ears. 'Never fear, there are still seven _other_ Beasts and two All-Seeing Hounds.'

'Oh.'

'Oh indeed,' Chessur said sarcastically. 'Here's the plan - I'll go first and lead the Hounds off. With luck a couple of the guards will follow them then you four make your entrance and remember, if you can't defeat them all make a run for it and get to Alice's cell first. I'll catch you up when I've dealt with the Hounds.'

'You sure, Chess?' Mally whispered with more than an ounce of fear in her voice.

'Yes, I'm almost completely sure it will work,' the Cat replied nonchalantly, lounging in the air as if he was discussing an unbirthday party instead of a decidedly more dangerous battle. 'Feel free to leave without me if you do reach dear Alice first. Fairfarren, friends.'

Tarrant tipped his Hat to Chessur in a silent farewell as he faded from view.

'Tha' guddler's scut's quite a brave chap, don't yeh think?' Thackery remarked. Tarrant grumbled something unintelligible and concentrated on righting his Hat again.

Six steps below, a Hound raised its large head and sniffed wide nostrils flaring to catch the tantalising scent of not-Otherland and the even more delicious one of Cat. He growled low to alert the second smaller Hound and rose silently to his feet, the long reddish-brown hairs along his spine also rising to increase his size by almost a third. The second Hound, a dark brown female glared at him for waking her but grudgingly inhaled. Instantly she too was on her feet straining against her lead and growling in unison with him.

The guards exchanged wary looks but remained silent waiting for the signal to release them.

The red-brown male suddenly snapped at the other and she fell half resentfully, half respectfully silent. Staring fixedly ahead he allowed his sixth sense to take over, and beside him knew the female would be doing the same. As their eyes blazed with white fire, the leader motioned for their handlers to release them.

The air particles shifted, displaying a disturbance in the middle of them. Then the disturbance solidified and a grinning not-Otherland Cat appeared to their left, eyes glinting in a challenge they could never resist. _Catch me if you can_, he mouthed slowly, and floated back. The female leapt forward jaws slavering eagerly as they strove to get a purchase on the infuriatingly taunting Cat. Less than a second later the male had joined her forgetting the guards behind them.

Dimly, Tarrant and the others heard the growls and heavy thuds of the Hounds in pursuit followed by an incomprehensible vaguely Outlandish roar and more footsteps. He counted two minutes before Mally's squeaky voice breathed in his ear.

'One…two…'

'THREE!' The March Hare shrieked bounding down the remaining steps and throwing himself headfirst into the seven armed guards. Pausing only to wonder whether it was an unexpected show of bravery, an everyday outbreak of madness or some combination of the two and Tea the others followed him into the fray.

Thackery's wild attack had caught them off-guard and more than one soldier found himself stunned by a large spoon, or perhaps it was a ladle. By the time Tarrant was clashing swords with a powerful but heavy-footed troll the Hare had attached himself to a spiky helmet and was screeching and clinging on for dear life as the poor half-deafened young Lion fought valiantly against the unknown menace.

Lighter on the feet than the lumbering troll, Tarrant attempted to tire it out first. Dancing in and out of reach, he swiped deliberately close, dodged a heavy swing then lunged himself. Too slow to parry, the troll could only flinch so that the blow glanced off his chest armour but the force of it carried the sword through to penetrate the thin mail covering the crease of his elbow.

With a howl the troll dropped his broadsword but before the Hatter could finish him off one of the previously stunned men has taken his place hurling blows with a rough cry of '_Otherland!' _All too soon the troll rejoined the battle, now wielding an axe with his other arm and Tarrant could feel his strength sapping as he fought off the clearly skilful swordsman and the enraged troll. The voices babbled nervously alternatively offering encouragement and forecasts of doom. And as every nerve muscle and thought focused on the physical battle outside, he noticed with a detached air that his control over the Madness was growing dangerously thin.

Only a few steps away Mallymkun was duelling fiercely with a black ferret armed with a flimsy rapier. Although smaller her hatpin sword was much sturdier and coupled with the ferret's obvious cowardice and inexperience she was confident the battle wouldn't be long. After finishing him she paused to stick one of the troll's ankles before moving on to the Dwarf groggily picking himself up from the floor. Besides the tea table, this was where she was in her element - with a sword in her paw and facing a worthy opponent. To her delight her size turned out to be a greater advantage than she'd thought, as the Dwarf seemed unused to duelling with a creature smaller than him. Out of the corner of her eye she glanced over at her companions and felt herself swell with pride at the sight of Hatter expertly driving off his attackers, and finally knocking down the Troll until she realised his eyes were a bright, flaming, _dangerous_ orange. Cold dread slid through her as her eyes moved to Thackery now nimbly dodging the paws of a great Black Bear. In his deadly rage he could and would slay anything in his path, and the Hare was barely a metre from the other guards' back. Then the Dwarf's dagger-like sword sliced through the air less than a centimetre from her fur drawing her back to her own battle. Driven by the need to rescue Hatter before he got himself or one of them killed, she darted in and around the Dwarf faster than ever. He matched her blows one by and one and if the arrogant sneer on his gnarled face was anything to go by he was just as confident as her of victory.

Desperately the Dormouse made a last, probably foolish lunge leaving herself vulnerable. Too quick for her his blade flashed down but just in time a streak of blue darted by his face, distracting him and giving Mally the time to scramble to her paws and deliver the fatal blow. Killing in combat didn't bother her as much as it did the Hatter but she still turned away as her opponent's life bled away.

The blue streak hovered in front of her with a stern expression. 'Go to Tarrant, he needs you,' Absolem ordered, evidently having the same thoughts as her.

She nodded and sped away over the black stone floor dodging feet and weapons as she went. The Hatter had cut down one of the men as well and was now hammering down blows against the remaining human guard and the Lion, who was sporting several ladle-shaped bruises and bumps on his helmet less head. Usually Mally would have no doubt that Tarrant could overcome them - especially the young Lion - but in his state of the Badness it was instinct not strategy or technique that drove him. Against a trained artist of the sword, his blind fury would kill him. He would fall for an obvious feint followed by a swift retort then a clean end.

Annoyingly the human soldier was wearing thick boots but the Lion was bare-pawed. The hatpin-sword slashed and while he yelped and hopped in surprise, the Dormouse was already climbing up the black armour to his shoulder. Burrowing into the thin mane she struck the Lion's throat with deadly aim before he was even aware of her presence there. Within the next few seconds she had scrambled free of the increasingly bloody mane and screeched out '_Hatta!'_

The Hatter faltered in his swing eyes rapidly clearing to the vibrant green as he blinked in confusion. Where was he? What was he - Oh of course! Alice! He was _rescuing_ the wee boy from the dungeons of Otherland - why was he fighting then? - _and guarding a spiral staircase. At the bottom of it lies the second line of defence….Alice's cell lies to the right; down the central passage - _what had happened to the troll and the other man he'd been fighting? The _Badness_ - raven and writing desk? Why is a -

'Hatta, look out!'

Dear Mally again? Was he in -

'Oh, _shukm,_' he muttered as a silver blade flew out towards him. His own lurched up instinctively to parry and jar against it as he properly opened his eyes to his surroundings. A black-haired man with half a spectacular moustache - had he cut the other half off? - was slashing and twirling his sword at him, a guard with a large gash across his chest was moaning on the ground, a Bear was advancing on Thackery, Absolem was hovering beside him doing his best to distract the Bear and dear Mally was scurrying up his sleeve.

Narrowing his eyes he began to circle the wary swordsman, subtly edging him away from the Bear. 'It's not a terribly nice day, is it?' he lisped casually. 'Horribly _throminark_.' (A/N)

The other man glared back. 'The Kingdom doesn't respond well to Outsiders and Enemies of the Crown,' he spat in reply, perfectly understanding the Outlandish. He flicked his blade towards the Hatter, toying with him.

Tarrant deflected it. 'On the contrary, the Trees seemed to like us a great deal. Invited us to come back for tea, when we pleased.'

His opponent made a slightly less calculated lunge forward. 'Traitors,' he hissed, the half-moustache twitching furiously. 'Slurvish slackush scrum of the worst sort.'

'If you label them as such, so they must be beamish gallymoggering saganistutes of the best kind in our eyes!' Tarrant declared, blithely proud of his logic.

'Hatta, what are you - _orgal!_' Mally's irritated reprimand was cut off by a terrified squeak. Tarrant swung his longsword around just in time to catch and slide it against the guard's. The metal screeched together causing the Bear to flinch and pause his attack for a second, a second Thackery gleefully took full advantage of.

The swordsman took half a step forward but retreated almost immediately seeming to realise the futility of attempting to help the Bear with Mally and Tarrant acting as a barrier. Shifting his gaze back from his comrade to Tarrant he stood poised and waiting for him to make the first move.

Glancing sideways Tarrant could see the Bear regaining the advantage. He inched further back, directly facing the left branch of the central passageway. 'I've been considering things that begin with the letter _R_,' he began. 'Riot, rivalry, repel respond resist reveal -'

'Retreat,' the man interrupted spitefully.

'-rowdy, ruckus rush race rescue,' the Hatter continued as if the man had not spoken, then paused and displayed an eerie gap-toothed grin as he extended his sword flat side up_. _'Run.'

Faster than the Otherlandian could blink, Mallymkun was half-sprinting half-sliding - slinking, perhaps - down the long sword and with a deft flick of the madman's wrist had been flung through the air to land with admirable accuracy on his sword hand. Even his trained reflexes couldn't save him against the white rat nor from crying out with more surprise than pain and dropping his sword; something he'd never done in all his twenty or fifty or two hundred and thirty-four years of service to the Otherlandian Crown. (Time had gone a little funny for him and his fellow servicemen after the King before the King before the present Thirteen-Year King had ordered them to destroy all Underlandian-made pocket watches [by depriving them of butter]. It had only stopped sulking recently.) His quick reactions _did_ allow him to retrieve his sword again in good time but by the Time he'd done so the madman had already whipped something almost certainly deadly from his sleeve and the white rat was out of range.

As the scissors spun through the air in a direct bearing for the Bear's right eye, Tarrant scooped up Mally and waited only for the Bear's outraged roar to grab a fistful of the Hare's jacket and turn on his heel, paying homage to the last R word he'd considered - _'Run!'_

* * *

Kwogedonn hurried through the net of hidden passageways reserved for the King's servants, intent on doing his duty by warning the King of the intruders. Loyalty to the King controlled a great area of his slow-working brain and was now the singular force driving his thick body. He trotted along the slimy tunnel ignoring the murmurs of courtiers as they socialized and entertained in the rooms above, then paused to catch his breath before beginning the laborious downward trek. The winding staircase of exactly the right proportion for his race was concealed within a seemingly ornamental column and so narrow the dirty smock he wore brushed against the sides as he descended. He never stopped to consider whether his life might have been easier if his race had still been the fleet-footed messengers of old, and indeed had no time for it was at that moment that he slammed through the hidden wooden door at the base of the column and ended up sprawling ungracefully on the marble floor at the feet of his Magnificent and Most High Excellency.

'Your- your Majesty,' he gasped out, a genuine lopsided grin forming. For a few moments he was too ludicrously happy to see his sovereign to remember his purpose for practically sprinting there in the first place. At least until his royal Highness raised a cold eyebrow and spoke.

'I'm assuming you have a _perfectly valid reason_ for using the emergency passage and interrupting me on my way out?'

'Yes, sire!' Kwogedonn replied immediately dimly aware of the dangerous tone of his monarch's voice. He drew himself up as importantly as he was able. 'There are intruders in the castle sir!'

The King's black eyes flashed as he leaned in closer to his subject, instantly giving his full attention. 'Impossible,' he hissed. 'Who? Where? _How?_'

'Last I saw them sire, they were passing through the Red-Gold Tapestry of the East Wing on Ground. They - they looked to be _Underlandians _sire.' He paused dramatically. 'I heard them say something about the dungeons -'

'They're after Alice,' the King interrupted abruptly. 'The rescue party, of course, come to save her from the unspeakable terrors of Otherland.' He frowned and paced back towards his throne. 'But how did they escape the forest and infiltrate the castle? They must have had an ally on the inside, or a magical concoction of some kind - their_ Queen _probably gave it to them - '

'Sire,' Kwogedonn broke into his mutterings, lumbering up the steps after him. 'I don't know how they escaped the forest, my Lord, but when I saw them they did have an ally with them!'

'Indeed?'

'Yes my King, a traitor in our midst! A being em-embroiled in the very going-ons of the castle! A most, most _twisted_ - '

'As admirable as your new vocabulary is - '

'My everlasting gratitude, your Grace!'

'- I would be far more content if you told me the identity of this traitorous treacherous wretch _right now.'_

Kwogedonn gulped noisily before the sly satisfied leer slid back into place. 'The Undecided Kiarkaris, sire; _Kiar.'_

* * *

Right corridor, _check. _First left. About ten - no, eight and a half - steps, che-

'Hatta, what about the guard? And the Bear?'

'Never mind about them, Mally. Don't you recall the Bandersnatch when you valiantly dislodged his eye?' Right turn again. 'It was so_ gallymoggers_ with pain that it lost control and injured poor Alice, and having almost exactly replicated the circumstances I am confident the outcome will be the same.'

'Genius,' Thackery giggled, darting ahead of them.

Absolem reappeared to Tarrant's left looking grim. He maintained his dignity even as his tiny legs gripped onto Tarrant's coat and his wings trembled momentarily with exhaustion. Evidently his beautiful but gossamer thin wings were having a hard time keeping up. 'Your plan succeeded admirably Tarrant, but more guards have been sent for,' he informed them levelly. 'The Hounds have not yet returned so I assume the Cat is still keeping them at bay.'

Mally nodded confidently. 'He has his potion; he'll be fine.'

Another left. Tarrant saw, remembered and turned but Thackery who was bounding a few paces ahead did not and carried on just as another guard stepped out from one of the cells surrounding them.

The troll took one look at the spoon-wielding wide-eyed Hare and his motley collection of friends and bellowed out; '_Prisoners! Prisoners escap-_ ' before an invisible presence gripped him from behind and shoved him into the cell he'd been half out of, leaving him to the mercy of the chained but now in range Stag inside.

'Chessur!' Mally cheered but the forming of the infamous grin was cut off by shouts of guards coming to the troll's aid.

'What are you waiting for; go!' he exclaimed taking the lead. The last spoken, official '_R'_ word once again came into action but Thackery stayed closer to Tarrant this time.

The creatures in the cells they passed - almost all of which were full - stared openly at the bright prison-crashers racing through but for the most part did nothing to either aid or stop them. A few perhaps still hoping for mercy shouted their whereabouts to the prison guards while one or two even cheered and shouted encouragement when they passed. They all showed the same avid curiosity resulting from Time little or endless spent in the dreary prison beneath Karzaron; complete with white-turned-grey walls, low dripping ceilings and a lack of funds or caring for hygiene and sewers, expressed by an ever-present stench. As their worn feet and paws pounded further away from the entrance and deeper into the labyrinth the stone floor gave way to an earthen base, that was hard clay in some places and soft and muddy in others. If they had had time to look they would have seen the prisoners looking more and more hopeless, dangerous and forgotten the deeper they went.

They passed a right, a left and finally saw the second right in the slightly twisting tunnel. Luck deserted them once again as a shrunken donkey further along brayed loudly. 'Intruders down 'ere!' he bawled, pushing his bony muzzle easily through the bars. Chessur hissed at him but the hopeful expression didn't fade until the men had swept past without a second glance.

Tarrant tried to push Thackery backwards but his stubborn friend refused to retreat. '**'**Tis mahbattle tae,' he growled gripping tightly to his ladle. 'Ah'm fighting, and yeh cannae stop mae!'

There was no further time to reply or protest or be proud; the men bearing the Otherlandian crest descended and his already gory sword grew darker. His movements became mechanical; the many tiny cuts and grazes gained from earlier attacks sharpened to full awareness; he could no longer pinpoint where his friends stood in the fray as the sword weaving and sparring with his own demanded all his thoughts. Even the Madness could get no hold on him. He briefly grinned at that thought until a heavy katzbalger (A/N) slammed into his ribs knocking him sideways against the wall. Gritting his teeth, Tarrant threw himself back into the melee.

Seeing a gap in the troll's defences, he leaned too far forward to ram his sword between the plates of armour, riskily exposing his left side at the same time. The troll bellowed and lurched forward into Tarrant as his legs gave our beneath him. Desperate to stay on his feet, the thick meaty hands seized first on a wool collar and his yellow teeth bared triumphantly. Grimacing as the troll's stinking breath swept across his face - he could practically _feel_ it coating him with filth and slime - Tarrant shoved back at the troll forcing the wool to rip with his weight. The yellow teeth formed a howl and his eyes grew wide and panicked as he scrabbled for purchase, in vain this time. The dirt-encrusted claws raked Tarrant's neck finding nothing before the poultice. Hope rose for an instant then died as the unkempt nails tore through it, ripping the bandage and gouging into the half-healed wound before making bloody trails to the ground.

Tarrant hardly felt the troll release him and sink defeated to the ground; he didn't hear the almost inhuman cry torn half-choking from his throat as he reeled backwards staggering and falling over another body. His pale bandaged hands reached up to touch the wound; they were shaking badly he realised when they returned to his vision dripping with fresh blood and the remains of the healing herbs. He made another unsuccessful attempt to staunch the blood flow then gave up and closed his dimming eyes. But even as he did so he fought back against the Daze and the Madness - or Badness - that begged so _dearly_ to take over and ease the agony, that was so _concerned_ for his recovery… He forced his eyes open again and rose with no small difficulty, leaning heavily against a cell. He honestly couldn't care less what its inhabitant was. _R _words, they were important_. Respond respite REST refuge retaliate resist Resistance! _That was important; he must resist for his fellow members of the Underland Underground Resistance.

_So much blood! Stop it, stop it for the love of Underland!_

_Stay well, dear fellow!_

_Give in, give up, let us erase the pain…_

_Alice Alice Alice!_

_Stang! Orgal! Zounder! Klotchyn, Tarrant!_

_Why is a raven like a writing desk? At night they come without being fetched. By day they are lost without being stolen. What are they? _

_Perhaps this pain is similar to that your family felt as they burned with Jabberwocky fire…_

_Resistance ruddy red rude ripping reaching…._

Ignoring the voices Tarrant pulled a scarf from his pocket and tied it as tightly as he dared around his own neck above, below and over the open wound, now a great deal more painful than it had been even in the forest.

Looking back to the battle he saw with relief it could barely be called that anymore. Only two were still standing, both men and one was entirely occupied by Chessur or what _he_ saw as the Invisible Menace. The man made a few more frantic turns and swipes and received another blow that sent him sailing against the bars of a cell ten feet away. Not even bothering to return for his sword the man was off and vanishing around the curve. The other man had been duelling with Mally, Thackery and Absolem and holding his own well against them, although Tarrant could see the majority of the few exposed areas of his skin was an oddly discoloured hue, as if he was covered by one huge forming bruised laced with thin red lines.

Unfortunately Tarrant was left no time to ponder this new riddle as it was solved in the next few seconds when Thackery, emboldened from Chessur's success with the other reached into his jacket pocket and threw the teacup there with a loud whoop at the man's head. The man moaned seeing he was alone and dropped down to try and shield his head from further damage. At such close range the ladle immediately knocked him out and the others turned to him, their triumphant grins fading at the half-blood-soaked sight.

All the colour had drained from his face leaving it whiter than ever and his hands still shook, but he managed a weak grin. 'Splendid fellows,' he lisped. 'Callooh indeed! No Callay until Alice though, we still need to employ another useful _R_ word; rescue. Shall we?'

His words were not as calming as he'd hoped, instead his four friends immediately began to lose their heads over his injury completely forgetting the importance of words beginning with the letter R. Thackery became hysterical, Mally was bordering on it, Chessur's paws while investigating the wound were unsteady and even Absolem looked a trifle pale.

'Great Underland Tarrant; when I heard you cry out I had no idea it was so bad,' Chessur exclaimed as he removed the last of the makeshift bandage. 'Look at this - '

'I'd rather not,' Mally interjected.

' - days of healing, gone to waste! We're at the beginning again and beyond, I'm afraid. Still, we'll be home again soon-'

'You may leave now if you wish Tarrant,' Absolem interrupted in his neutral voice, but his eyes were piercingly sincere. 'We would not think less of you and you could heal almost instantly providing you land in Marmoreal -'

'Nay,' Tarrant growled instantly. 'Ah came fer a purpose, and by Underland ah'll nae leave til tha' Champion is rescued.'

Henceforth: nothing could sway him. He would not and could not leave without Alice; it was an impossible thing he refused to believe. The others didn't attempt to persuade him for long, time was short and any second another convoy could ambush them.

'Are you sure you're strong enough to go on?' Mally persisted worriedly from his Hat as they turned down the second right at long last.

'I'll be_ fine _Mally!'

'Answer my question, Hatta!'

'May I answer "why is a raven like a writing desk" instead? I much prefer that question…'

'_Hatter!'_

'For heaven's sake be quiet Mallymkun,' Chessur muttered crossly. 'At least _try _to remember we are not at all supposed to be here. You're wasting your time on Tarrant anyway, he's more stubborn than even you when it comes to Alice.'

Tarrant grinned at Chessur, who rolled his eyes theatrically in reply and vanished to scout ahead.

He was tiring a great deal faster than before, he could feel it. They weren't even racing as fast as before, but the still constant flow of blood being lost under Chessur's improved bandage was taking its toll. The pain had lost some of its intensity but become a solid ache which was impossible to ignore. So far he hadn't decided which kind of pain he preferred.

Left. Left. His heart jumped and stuttered as they made the final turn and Absolem flitted ahead, counting the cells. In the distance, more alarm cries and the jangle of mail and armour could be heard but Chessur had already disposed of the two guards posted in that passageway. He was fastidiously licking his claws clean when the others caught up.

'There,' he said, pointing at the same spot Absolem had just flown to. In this tunnel every cell had a few inches of stone wall between them and the next instead of a narrow metal sheet. The blue butterfly was hovering in front of the wall wedged between cells thirteen and fourteen.

In Cell Thirteen a battle scarred old man was snoring while in Fourteen, a young goblin girl was curled up gibbering and cursing to herself. Neither looked up at the newcomers.

Absolem stared intently at the wall. behind him Mally, Thackery, Tarrant and Chessur did the same albeit impatiently. The sounds of Otherlandian soldiers increased; no doubt they'd discovered the remains of the first group by now. At last a tiny door knob appeared and without hesitation Tarrant grabbed it and hurried inside, not pausing to wonder at how he fit or how the passage was much too large to be contained within that tiny stretch of wall. A solitary lantern hung from the ceiling above illuminated the spiral staircase, and as he took in the damp mossy walls and the uneven steps the door behind them clicked shut and vanished into the wall. Just as suddenly the sounds of the soldiers in pursuit ceased, and only their own breaths could be heard.

'Only forward now,' Chessur echoed the Hatter's thoughts grimly.

'You don't have to sound so forbidding and eerie about it,' Mallymkun grumbled.

'Old habits, luv.'

'Forward!' Thackery declared.

'Rescue,' Tarrant muttered and started forward again, arms outstretched for balance. His fingers brushed against the slimy moss causing him to recoil hastily, in his hurry forgetting to count the steps. It was only Mally's alarmed cry and Chess' swift reaction that saved him inches from the twelfth step.

Chessur dug his claws deeper into the battered wool coat, his breaths coming in pants as he strained to hold Tarrant's weight on the eleventh step. 'One…two…three…four…five…six…and a half now _go!_' He shoved Tarrant forward and wasted no time in sprinting ahead himself. Thackery's foot had only just cleared the fourth step when it disappeared to reveal the stake-lined pit. A blink later, and it was gone.

Together they raced the remaining steps and didn't pause as the last crooked ledge sloped onto the now rocky floor. Just over ten metres ahead, the metal doors stretched several metres to the ceiling. There were several iron handles located along the line that divided the two doors, to enable creatures of all shapes and sizes to enter.

'_Emrisia!' _Tarrant yelled again feeling the twinge of familiarity. He would ask the voices when they were back in Underland; surely one of them would know.

'Entry granted,' a smooth voice replied and there was an audible click. Instantly both he and Chessur seized the nearest handle, wrenched it open and then they were in.

A shout echoed from a few feet to the right; Tarrant tore his gaze from the Champion for less than a second to flick a hatpin threaded into the inside of his sleeve in that direction.

She looked a little older; perhaps more mature than the last time he'd seen her in reality; she had crossed the border fully from girl to young woman now, whereas before she had been teetering on it. Her golden curls were limp and her face pale and tired, but the radiance of her natural muchness hadn't dimmed one bit. In short, his Alice was a vision.

Only…something was wrong.

His Alice wasn't smiling; her eyes locked on his showed no relief or delight; solely panic and fear and she was straining against the ugly chain that bound her to the cot and shouting -

'_No! _Tarrant! Chess, Absolem_, get out! _It's a trap, please!'

Too late, the metal doors behind slammed shut and on the other side a bar was slid through the handles. The dungeons groaned, and in horror the Underlandians watched the walls rippling as stones slid back to reveal hidden recesses. Countless soldiers stepped out from these and from the other aisles branching off, all armed, all under orders.

Beside him Tarrant heard Chess inhale sharply. 'We can't win,' the feline murmured. 'We should leave now while we still can.'

On his shoulder, Mallymkun silently drew her hatpin-sword. Grinning slowly, Tarrant did the same.

'You're mad,' one of the nearest guards said disbelievingly.

'All the best people are,' he replied, and struck.

At once the rest of the soldiers had converged upon them, needing no further encouragement than one of their own falling and failing. Mallymkun and Tarrant were probably two of the best fighters Mirana of Marmoreal possessed, but even they couldn't keep off the horde of men, trolls, Animals and various other fighters that fought to reach and end them.

'Tha' Jabberwock blood, Hatta!' Thackery shouted from his position on his friend's back. He was close to hysteria again. 'Get tha' wee lass the _potion!'_

Barely just hearing his friend above the clamour Tarrant turned in Alice's direction and locking eyes light blue with desperation with hers, made a last effort and hurled the delicate glass vial above the crowd and across the prison, narrowly missing the spears and horns. Her eyes widened and she tugged the chain as far it would go as it sailed neatly through the cell bars. Time slowed down (although later he would deny ever taking sides) but all the time in all the worlds couldn't make the chain longer, only force those in the dungeon to watch for a few extra seconds as the vial grazed upon the tips of her fingers, slipped away, landing heavily on the stone floor.

Straightaway Alice was on her knees stretching out for it but the sturdier-than-it-looked bottle was already rolling away closer to the bars, its luck run out. One of the more intelligent creatures in the crowd, a large centaur lost no time in fitting his fore hoof between the bars and crushing the vial; ruthlessly, mercilessly, relentlessly. _No._ Even the simplest of words escaped her in her state of numbness;_ it was over._ Her fingers reached uselessly for the purple blood as it trickled away and was absorbed by the stones. She thought she heard them sighing in relief as they disappeared, but she was probably just going mad.

_'No!'_ Tarrant screamed rage building up inside him as he temporarily lost sight of the battle. He had to get to her; had to give her his own potion, _had to reach her_ but there were still so many soldiers in the way - he felt his sword being knocked from his hands and the tip of another pressed to his throat.

'Surrender,' the tall Gorgon rasped.

Armed with nothing, deserted by two of six friends and one imprisoned, Tarrant Hightopp could only nod.

* * *

**Whew. I never knew writing action was so exhausting. I decided to put the authors note at the end this time as I figured you'd all been kept waiting long enough for this chapter...hope it was worth it :) I can't believe its been a year since I began this fic! Where does the time go..**

**Here's another AiW news snippet; as of July 2011, it is the SIXTH highest grossing film of all time :D Callooh, callay!**

**Throminark -** a word of my own invention, following the example of Carroll's poem Jabberwocky I decided to make up my own Outlandish word :) its a mixture of threatening, dark and ominous...

**Katzbalger -** a 16th century German short sword. I love the research I get to do for this story :D

There's a lot of Outlandish in this chapter, so here is a link to a glossary of the terms, just take out the spaces: http:/ alicein wonderland. wikia .com/ wiki/ Glossary_of_Alice _in_Wonderland_ Terms

******Many thanks to ******** everyone who's reviewed, favourited and alerted while I've been neglectful! I'm away again tomorrow (today now) around 4 in the morning (Romania :D) so the next chapter won't be for at least a week, hope you're all having a great summer! **


	18. Wishful Thinking

Chapter 18 - Wishful Thinking

Whispers were flying around the castle on the morning of the Underlandians' imprisonment. The Champion had escaped. The Underlandians had taken over, one man had single-handedly fought off the whole prison guard and the Underlandians had had an ally within the castle. The King had allowed them to leave freely, the King had put them all to death. One foolhardy serving boy even swore on his life that the King had _proposed_ to the Champion.

But while most of these rumours were bred from naught but other rumours, the undoubted evidence of one was, if not freely, then openly circulated inside the black stone walls of the fortress.

He hadn't been told what the summons was for, but then he hadn't needed to be. It wasn't hard to guess when a dozen hard-faced armed guards had arrived to personally escort him to the throne room. Even after ten minutes of marching he could still feel their icy glares.

It was very far from pleasant to have the usual gestures of deference and respect that followed him replaced by accusatory looks and bold whispers. Although at first he feigned immunity his temper finally snapped when a child faun - a _child_ - giggled and pointed as he passed.

Twisting around faster than the guards could anticipate, Kiar fixed the child faun with a cold, steely gaze that conveyed all the power and authority and respect he still held and demanded. Traitor to the Otherlandian Crown he may be, but not a common prisoner - not yet. Their eyes remained locked for a couple more seconds, then his upper lip slid slightly back revealing the sharp incisors specialised for piercing prey, such as goats. The child whimpered and shrank back against its mother while a sudden hush descended on the crowd. Without waiting for the guards to order him Kiar stepped on forward, his head held up high and proud and his gaze unswervingly ahead. It would have amused him to know that in the eyes of the remaining creatures he passed, the soldiers appeared as more of an entourage than an ordered escort.

When they reached the Second Eastern Door leading into the throne room, one of Kwogedonn's cousins was waiting for them. His small eyes bulged with awe and fear as they landed on Kiar and looked away immediately, at anything but the towering Kiarkaris. He - Swodgelinn, or Rodgelinn, Kiar thought - pounded on the heavy door, arduously unlocked it and heaved it open while hollering their presence to the King. The grimy wings flapped excitedly as the guards pushed past trying (unsuccessfully) to get ahead of Kiar to report.

Kiar entered as he always had and took a quick sweep of the room as he strode to the front of the Thirteen Stairs. An assortment of soldiers and guards - all leaders or generals he noted - lined the walls and pillars of the room, no doubt present as witnesses of his trial. He could hear Swodgelinn fumbling to lock the door behind him and took in the bolted windows in front - no escape then. The King himself was seated on the throne with Kwogedonn standing self-importantly on his right.

'My Lord, you sent for me.' He kept his voice polite and respectful but emotionless; guarded.

'I did,' the King replied after a pause, with a deceptively relaxed air Kiar saw right through. 'Do you know why?'

'My _escort_ has not been so gracious as to tell me.' He shot the leader a contemptuous look. 'I would know why such disrespectful measures were necessary.'

'_Disrespectful,_' the King repeated with a cold laugh. 'Of course, I sometimes forget how proud you Kiarkaris are - sometimes without cause, I daresay. For security, Kiar. The security of my kingdom. Doubtless you have heard there was an attempted break-in to the dungeons.' Kiar inclined his head slightly. 'And doubtless you have heard it failed.'

If the King was looking for a reaction, he was sorely disappointed. Kiar's body did not so much as flinch. His mind was another matter.

'But you may have also heard that the Underlandians had one of our own on their side - an informer inside the castle. A traitor in our midst.'

'I had not, my Lord. May I enquire as to whom?'

'Does it not grieve you that such a gross betrayal has occurred?' the King continued, ignoring his query. 'Does the news not alarm you? Is it not _terrible_ to hear of one of your own peers, your allies disgracing himself in such a way?'

He held the King's gaze. 'A betrayal in the ranks does not surprise me; my Lord, knowing what we are made of. The circumstances are most unusual, I admit.'

'Yes,' Sagredver laughed callously. 'I agree with you; the betrayal does not surprise me at all.' He leaned forward suddenly in his throne, the laughter turning cold. 'But what self-respecting citizen of Otherland, who has sworn to embrace the "Bad Kind of Madness" as they call it, with heart, soul, body and mind would deliberately aid those who would oppose and thwart and _vanquish_ us at every turn? Our enemy above all others? Those that _abandoned_ us in the firs-' Breathing heavily, he cut himself off and glared into Kiar's eyes - although for an instant it seemed as if it was not Kiar, but something, somewhere, someone else he was glowering at so venomously and with such hatred; something that was not there, something beyond the circular throne room, beyond even the kingdom. Then he loosened his grip on the gold arms of the throne and leaned back, haughty composure regained and moment lost. 'As you know Kiar, there is only one creature in the whole of my domain that has not sworn his whole cause to the Darkness that belongs in each of us. As _you_ know very well.'

Kiar thought briefly of the two dozen or so young Kiarkaris still roaming undecided, but they were _young_, weren't they? The eldest, barely three years. Technicalities would not save him and attempts to correct the King's dramatic nature would predictably enrage him further. So he said nothing.

'Well? _Do you deny it?'_

No he would not deny it, he had no regrets whatsoever, he had determined that. He opened his mouth to tell the King so and felt something in his eyes quiver.

'Stop, your Majesty!' The entire throne room swivelled to see the gruff-faced fool who'd interrupted the trial. On the west side of the chamber Rorkorthlin pushed aside his comrades and stepped out in full view, a deep frown settled on the bull face. 'With respect, my King, surely you do not mean to accuse _Kiar _of such an act of treachery?'

The King, looking slightly bemused arched a slim eyebrow. 'Funny, that's _exactly_ what I mean to do. Very perceptive of you, Minotaur.' He turned back to Kiar, gesturing subtly for the guards to take care of the outspoken leader afterwards. 'You were saying?'

'No,' the Minotaur interrupted again, shaking his head adamantly. He stopped the half-approaching guards with a glance and continued doggedly. 'Your Majesty, I must protest. Kiar cannot be to blame for this; he played an important part in their capture!'

_I did?_

The King was now looking mildly interested, while beside him an even uglier expression slid over Kwogedonn's face. 'Go on.'

He drew himself up proudly. 'He alerted myself and my patrol of the danger within the city himself sir, and stayed with us helping to secure and search the fortress. He has always served the country well and fought valiantly alongside us commonplace soldiers. I'd be willing to swear my life - and my fellow soldiers would too I wager - that he wasn't the traitor.'

'Aye!' a shout rang out from amongst the troops, and then another, and another until half the throne room was calling out in Kiar's defence.

_Dear Otherland, _Kiar swore to himself, looking around at faces determined to rebel for him. Overwhelmed was the least of what he felt. Guilt, closely followed by confusion and topped by pure shock, were the most.

'But, your Excellency!' Kwogedonn piped up, struggling to make himself heard over the crowd. His squashed face was getting redder and redder. The Undecided Traitor was not getting away with it! Scarcely five minutes ago, he swore he'd seen another flash of blue. _He_ was trying to destroy Kwogedonn's Magnificent Sovereign and Kingdom of Excellency; it could not be allowed. Must not be allowed! 'Your Majesty, what about what I saw? Leading the Und- underl - intruders through the castle, my Lord? How does he explain _that?__' _The crowed fell silent at his words, protests dying in their throats.

In a way, Kiar was grateful to the squat, piggy-eyed creature gloating triumphantly at him. He only felt sorry for the soldiers. For the second time he prepared to speak.

'I -'

Rorkorthlin snorted, looking at Kwogedonn in contempt. 'Is that the best evidence you have, mezswenn?' Around him, his patrol exchanged dubious looks, but their leader snorted again. 'The explanation for that is simple and obvious, my King. Perhaps not to your dim-witted servant, but to those given the honour of defending your kingdom it is clear to see. The Kiarkaris knows the walls of this Fortress better than most and its twists and turns are no mystery to him. Why would he lead the Underlandians through the Passage of the Red-Gold Tapestry if not to specifically alert the King to the intruder's presence? He knew exactly what he was doing and succeeded in it too, your Majesty.'

Both King and the Kiarkaris' faces remained neutral, although Kwogedonn looked ready to burst. Murmurs and whispers crept through the crowd again as one by one they confirmed the justice of Rorkorthlin's words, who stood resolute and satisfied in the middle of it.

_Ridiculous, _Kiar thought. _They're all ridiculously bizarre, madder than the Mad Hatter._

'Kiar,' the King spoke suddenly, fixing him with calculating eyes. 'Is this true?'

Quick, and to the point. A yes or no question. Simple. Or it would have been, five minutes ago. Now, though… Another wave of guilt hit him as he realised the _faith_ the citizens had in him. They were willing to swear on their lives that he was no traitor, and in Otherland oaths of that kind were taken seriously. He had told himself he would bear the consequences of helping Alice, but…did his punishment _have_ to be a consequence? Wasn't he being given a choice here? His fall from grace and inevitable death would serve no purpose, after all. He had done the best he could for Alice and her friends, surely they were not expecting him to do more? He was still an Otherlandian at heart, and he should reward the faith of his fellow Otherlandians and brothers in arms, not throw it back in their faces. This was a glowing chance in a million; turning it down would be cruel and wasteful. He had done all he could for Alice, and the King was waiting. It was only a simple yes or no question, after all. Simple life or death, that was all.

'...Yes.'

As always, only Kwogedonn saw the brief flash of scarlet.

* * *

He wondered why he had never become comfortable with cells. By all logical calculations, he should be. He'd spent so much time in them.

Perhaps he should stay in one permanently; it would save much Time and Effort considering he would be sure to wind up in one sooner or later, _crazed madmen should not be allowed to wander free_, at any rate. The rate of how long it takes to outrun a pack of Bandersnatches. The rate of the number of cups of tea he and Thackery could down in a minute. The rate of how long it took someone to return from somewhere.

A cell would prevent him from the constant pain of failure. A wonderful bonus. For if he was locked up, he would not be able to carry out - though admittedly he could still devise - plans and adventures inevitable leading to Failure, and yet another Cell.

He could live in a cell. Maybe not happily, but he was not the Happy Hatter, was he? No; he distinctly knew himself as the Mad Hatter and Mad he could certainly be in a prison cell. Lonely too, which would contribute to his Madness and allow him to live up to his Name. He could avoid failing his name, at least.

See how it all worked out?

A Mad Hatter could do very well for himself within a cell. Only his trade would be missed, but he was sure if he was good they would allow him to Hat the King, or the prison guards. If not he would forget his trade and focus on being Mad.

Simple Logic.

The Mad Hatter of Witzend, Underland was a failure, but the Mad Man in the Cell did not have to be so.

This logic fitted him well.

He wondered why he had never entertained the thought before.

* * *

Guards were marching them through the labyrinthine corridors, the rattle of their mail and heavy thuds of their boots all around. Each dungeon they threaded through smelled indistinguishable from the rest. Black cloth prevented them from seeing if it looked the same too. They turned a sharp corner, and Mally muttered foully as the bird cage swayed and jerked in the careless guard's glove.

Tarrant wasn't aware of any of the above; his Thoughts occupied him completely. The high-born men back in the bleak grey room had gone unnoticed, as had their questions. He'd barely felt the cold iron being shackled around his neck, his wrists, his feet. He hadn't objected to being hauled to his feet, attached by his neck-chain to a Bear and shoved into the corridor ahead of his friends. The blank, faded green eyes had been covered unnecessarily, they were closed to the outside world anyway. At times a stumble or extra rough shove jerked his mind back up to the surface but it withdrew again just as quickly.

Mallymkun _was_ aware of it all. She'd fought back against the lords with fierce words while Tarrant used silence. She'd resisted the shackles, attacked the guards and revealed nothing. Despite his obvious suffering, she hadn't tried to rouse the Hatter - even to her, he could be unpredictable, and it was safer if the guards believed him harmless and mindless. The tiny cloth clumsily knotted around her head slipped, but it was little use as she still had no idea where in the name of Underland they were.

Thackery was being very, very quiet. He'd somehow maintained his ladle when both Tarrant and Mally had lost their swords and was gently caressing it as he trotted over the stones behind the Hatter. In the interrogation room, he sprouted only nonsense mainly in an Outlandish dialect and had kept his wide eyes on Tarrant at all times. Now he turned his head futilely to Tarrant ahead and Mally to his right, muttering and casting dagger-edged glares at where he believed the guards to be.

A sharp-toothed grin crept over the Dormouse's face as she lowered the blindfold a fraction. Finally, her surroundings were familiar again. Through the door; eleven steps, six and a half seconds, four steps at a sprint, seven at a brisk walk. Then _Emrisia_, and they were in.

The Alice was crouched by the front bars of her cage, a hand outstretched between them but as soon as the door scraped open she snatched it and the bread back and darted to the back of her cell. Her eyes widened and her voice cracked as she spoke. 'Mally? _Hatter?'_

'Quiet,' a hooded guard mumbled as he shoved the Hatter into the cell next to Alice, unlocking the chains that bound him to Thackery and Karzaron's guards and reattaching them to the wall, except for the neck chain. He barely noticed. A smaller guard did the same for Thackery in the next cell while the Bear hooked Mally's cage to the ceiling. At last the blindfolds were ripped off and the guards were gone.

Thackery gazed darkly after them, then brightened at the sight of Alice. 'It's _Alice_!' he crowed, and attempted a mad jig before the chains pulled him back.

'It's so good to see you again, Thackery,' she tried to smile back at him but barely managed it. 'What happened? What did they do to you?'

'Nothing that we ain't already endured,' Mally replied curtly. 'The slimy curs got _nothing_ from us.'

Alice smiled proudly, then turned to the cell next to her. 'Tarrant, are you all right?' she asked gently. 'Tarrant?'

The Hatter remained slumped on the floor, gazing blankly ahead. His eyes were a dull grey-green, the colour of a still cold sea beneath a blanket of grey clouds.

Mallymkun rolled her eyes. _Amateur, Alice. 'HATTA!'_

The Hatter jerked forward, and when he looked up his eyes were clear. 'Mally, that was unnecessary,' he lisped reproachfully. 'I was absolutely fine in the Madness, it is where myself and my failures belong.' His face darkened and the grey eyes slid from Mally to the dirty floor, withdrawing himself from the world once more.

'Tarrant!' Alice's heart hammered as she reached out for him through the bars, torn by the Despair on his face. The tips of her fingers barely grazed his right glove.

He started at his name, then stared down uncomprehendingly at her hand as if he was unsure of what to do with it. Hesitantly, he moved his hand slightly closer to hers. She rested her hand over his and held onto it. Only then did he look up at her.

'Alice, you're here,' he lisped, and frowned. 'Yeh shoul' nae be here…I'm sorry.'

'You did your best, and I'm grateful. It's not your fault they saw you. We knew it was risky, didn't we?' Tarrant nodded unhappily. 'It was me who wasted your potion after all and let it break…' A thought occurred to her. 'Do you still have those?'

Tarrant brightened and began to dig into his pockets, but Mally interrupted his searching with a sad shake of her head. 'Thackery and I checked while in the interrogation room; they're all gone. Chess must have removed them when he vanished, to save them from being confiscated I suppose.'

Alice frowned at her bitter tone. 'Well, can't he give them back now? Where is he anyway?'

The Dormouse spat on the prison floor, a long way down from the cage. 'Underland, probably. Curled up by a roasting log fire with a nice fat mouse waiting on his china plate.'

'He wouldn't have,' Alice murmured, stricken. 'He's helped you so far, why stop now?'

'Slurvish,' Thackery declared.

'Slackush scrum,' Tarrant agreed, still checking all his many pockets. 'It doesn't surprise me, though I had hoped better of the guddler's scut by now. He voiced his intentions quite clearly when we entered through that door.'

'What of Absolem?'

'Tae wise fer 'is own good,' Thackery muttered.

'I don't believe he could have deserted us,' Tarrant said firmly, and Mally seconded him. 'Perhaps he is only biding his time and waiting for the Opportune Moment to rescue us. He knows Otherland better than we do.'

'Now would be a good time to make himself known,' Mally said glumly, sitting down by the edge of her cage.

'Absolem will return, unless something has gone dreadfully wrong in Underland. He can be very muchy when he wants to be.'

'Nothing will, they've got the Oraculum haven't they?' Mally muttered crossly.

Silence fell in the prison, apart from the low grumbles of the goblin further down the corridor. Alice suddenly remembered about the bread she was holding and crawled over to the front of her cell. The goblin ceased his grumbles until he realised he had only received half the usual portion and looked back at her unhappily. 'I'm sorry,' she said guiltily, and turned back to her friends now staring at her curiously. 'Are any of you hungry?'

Thackery nodded eagerly and smiling, she tore part of the bread off and tossed it over to him. Tarrant hesitated. 'It's very kind of you Alice, but I couldn't possibly -' The bread bounced off his bowtie almost immediately. He blinked owlishly as Thackery giggled between bites and Alice stood up to throw the remaining piece to Mally. Once sitting, she began to grin too.

'Just eat it, Hatter. I told you before I wouldn't let you die, remember?'

He hesitated a moment longer, then gave in gratefully. The long night and heavy battle had exhausted all of them and both Mally and Thackery fell silent once their meal was done. It was a meagre breakfast and nowhere near enough to satisfy their hunger, but Tarrant was not about to tell Alice that. He shuffled closer to her, feeling ridiculously shy. They'd talked and sat close together in the Dream World; why should Reality be any different? _Because it is much more real than dreams._

'Alice, are you glad we no longer share dreams?' the Hatter asked suddenly.

'I don't know,' she replied honestly. 'I rather enjoyed them. Are you, Tarrant?'

He mulled it over before finally settling on an answer. 'Yes, I am glad.'

'Oh.'

He glanced sideways and his smile disappeared at the tell-tale creasing of her brow and disappearance of her smile, her Alice-smile. He hastened to her side of the cell. 'Don't misunderstand me, Alice! That would be decidedly inconvenient seeing as there is so little space in which to be cross with each other in here and it could hinder our escape efforts somewhat and most importantly I would not like you to misunderstand me Alice, that is not what I want, or mean, at all!'

'What _do_ you mean to say then, Hatter?' Alice asked, reaching through the bars to straighten his slightly askew Hat.

'Dreams are no substitute,' he told her simply.

'Even for this reality?' she gestured to their cold, grey surroundings.

He shook his head stubbornly. 'Being in a real prison in a real world with a real you is much preferable to Dream World with a dream you.'

'We can't just pinch ourselves to escape from here,' Alice said seriously, her brown eyes holding his. 'There's no waking up in Reality.'

'Does there need to be?' He was leaning closer to her unconsciously. 'If the Dream or Reality is good enough then why would I want to wake up from it, dear Alice?'

'What if you were trapped in a cold, bare dungeon deep below a dark castle brimming with evil?' She didn't know why she was pressing on like this, but she knew it was important.

He grinned his gap-toothed, innocent grin. 'Then perhaps I should like to wake up, but luckily I'm not.' She opened her mouth to object, but he cut her off. 'I am in a cold dungeon deep below a dark castle, yes, but it is not bare for there is an Alice brimming with muchness in the cell next to mine.'

Alice couldn't help but smile at his pleased look, and found herself thinking that not one of the flowery poetic compliments recited by London gentlemen could ever compare to the simple words the Hatter stated so candidly and naturally.

They were very close now, his unusually pale skin inches from hers, his red lips still curved into a gentle smile similar to the one he'd worn on the Frabjous Day she'd left him; but this time it contained no sadness, to her relief. This close, she could see every swirl and glimmer in those brilliant green eyes, including the violet sparks igniting within. She could see that one of the emerald irises was slightly off; slightly unfocused; always teetered restlessly in another direction, but despite it he was still looking at _her _above everything else in the room. Alice watched the violet streaks and thought that there was no face she'd rather see than the Hatter's, despite or perhaps because of the Madness, the foreign strangeness that marked him. Tarrant leaned further forward, and rested his head against the bars that separated them with an almost inaudible sigh. Alice smiled, ignored the unfamiliar pang and leaned against her side of the bars.

'Hatter,' she spoke a few minutes later, 'why do you have a scarf tied around your neck so tightly?'

He'd almost forgotten about the wound. Overnight the constant throbbing had become routine and been pushed to the back of his mind in a box labelled Important But Not Urgent. He grimaced at the memory and the pain's renewed vigour, but he couldn't condemn Alice's endearing curiosity. 'Tis only an old wound reopened last night, Alice.'

She was sitting up straight now, peering closer at it in horror. 'Tarrant, it's soaked through with blood!'

'Old blood,' he corrected her cheerfully. 'No new blood coming out, so it's quite all right now. Chess purified it when it occurred and then again last night, so there's very little chance of it festering and causing more problems and pain. Any remnants of the Badness should be long gone, so there is nothing to worry about, Alice dear.'

''But it still hurts you?'

His smile faded. 'Unfortunately, yes. But once we're back in Marmoreal it'll heal in less time than it takes Mirana to make Pishalver.'

'What if we don't get back to Marmoreal?'

'Then it will take a few weeks longer to heal,' he said openly, but she saw the unease in his eyes. They turned back to her then, shining brightly. 'Alice, dinnae doubt yer muchness. 'Tis our fiercest weapon.'

'I won't Hatter,' Alice promised, reaching through bars to take his hand again. She shivered, and he felt his anger rise at the thought of the King leaving his Alice to shiver with nothing but a thin, flimsy, albeit beautiful dress. But no matter how well-made, it was unsuitable for a cell. Slowly he stretched his own arm through the bars and rested it tentatively around her shoulders, trying to offer what little warmth he could. The Champion pressed closer gratefully, and even in the cold damp cell beneath the hostile castle, he could recall few times he'd been happier.

An hour or so later, Mally stirred from a dream of battling Jabberwockies and Bandersnatches triumphantly and glanced over to her friends below. Thackery was snoring loudly on his back, ladle clutched to his chest and left foot twitching regularly. The goblin was barely visible at the back of his cell muttering away and still no guards could be seen. She scowled at the next sight. _Bloody slurvish heart-breaker. _Sitting against the back wall of their cells, the Hatter and Alice were sound asleep, faint smiles on each face. Her blonde curls cascaded across his shoulder as she rested her head there, while his unruly orange mop complete with Hat was propped against the hard bars uncomfortably - not that he minded, it would seem. Mally glowered at the arm drawing Alice to him and at the second loosely draped across the Hatter's torso.

'Might be they're just friends,' she muttered to herself, then laughed at her own wishful thinking.

* * *

To a newcomer, the cell would not look like a cell at all. It could be mistaken for a high-ranking servant's bedroom, or a perhaps even a low-ranking courtier's. Solid walls surrounded it on all sides and it was filled with simple, but not excessive, furniture. A single bed with blankets, pillows and a clean mattress, a desk, a wooden chair, a small bookcase and a bathroom separate from the main room. Even paintings decorated the smooth walls. A portrait of the Talorius family, the kings before the Thirteen-Year King (he had taken their name when he had taken the throne), a colourful canvas of a familiar creature and several landscapes of Otherland. The Queen's favourite was one that displayed a gentle waterfall in the midst of a silver birch grove, and the brown stream through which it ran into and out of the picture. She preferred it to the imposing, dark scenes of the other paintings but detested - disliked - the painting of the Beast most of all. More than once she had tried to remove it from the wall but the ebony-framed masterpiece - for a true likeness it undoubtedly was - would not move for all her feeble strength. It hung directly opposite her bed, purposefully she suspected, for every morning upon waking the first creature's face to greet her was that of the Jabberwocky.

Such luxuries could not completely mask the room's true intent, however. Unchanging landscapes could never replace real windows and a painted floor with an old brass door handle could not distract the prisoner from the barred window at the top, nor the hinged flap at the bottom through which food was deposited. Unluckily even lean Thackery would have struggled to get through it so Mirana's attempts were quickly abandoned.

She had spent her first day and night of imprisonment pacing restlessly, reciting her lists of potion recipes to calm and test herself and reading from the poor selection of books offered. _A History of Otherland_ had been finished much too quickly and _Otherlandian Culture For All Races _had been set aside scarcely a dozen pages in. _Creatures of Otherland_, picked up on the morning of the second day was twice as thick as the other two combined and proved just as gruesome as her second book choice. She'd had no visitors her first day or night apart from the trays of food shoved through the flap twice daily, no matter how often and rightfully she demanded an audience with the King, as her equal status to him deserved. Once she thought she caught a glimpse of a crown through the bars while pacing but it vanished the moment she looked up.

But by on the evening of her second day of imprisonment she finally had a visitor, if not a permitted one.

'I should have listened to you.'

'Yes.'

'Are you sure they are all unharmed?' she asked anxiously.

'At this moment they are in no danger of death, although battle wounds have been sustained.'

She rose impatiently and began to pace again. 'If I only had my potions and remedies with me! - then I could give them to you to pass on, and that would be one less problem to worry about!'

'If you were in possession of your potions and remedies you would not be here, therefore I would not be here and so we would still be unable to help your friends.'

'They're your friends too, Absolem,' she pointed out. He did not deign to reply. Mirana glided back over to the chair, marginally calmer. 'Perhaps I could bribe a guard?' she mused. 'Surely that would not count as harming another living creature…'

'With what do you plan to bribe them?'

'I haven't worked that out yet,' she replied irritably. They lapsed into silence again for a while. 'I have been so foolish, Absolem. When I think how simple it would have been to avert this…I have let them all down, again. I am unfit to be Queen.'

'Cease your useless self-pity, Mirana of Marmoreal,' Absolem reprimanded her brusquely. 'Regardless of your feelings, you remain Queen of Underland. Act like her so you may feel like her and hence _be_ her.'

Absolem rarely spoke so clearly, so when he did people usually listened. Mirana listened, and repeated his words to herself in a whisper. _Would it really be that easy? One way to find out, Mirana of Marmoreal. _She sat up straighter, brushed away the tiny gathering of tears along with the doubts she'd been entertaining, and mustered her courage as the White Queen retrieved the pearl-white crown from the desk and set it gently in its rightful place again. 'Thank you for your counsel, Absolem. Tell me, how is my kingdom faring in our absence?'

'The Trees inform me that a hidden power is rising; the same that seized you. They are gathering power and forces, spreading tales of your desertion and rumours of your Darkness among the common people. The Rabbit and the Dodo are also amassing the soldiers and sending out a message and a warning to all corners of Underland. Already many of your loyal supporters make their way towards Marmoreal, but others seek the Outlands for peace and quiet.'

'That is their decision; we must hope none fall prey to the unknown dangers of the mountains. Have there been any serious casualties yet?'

'Unfortunately, yes. As of this morning, Salazen Grum has fallen.'

_Dear Underland, no. _Her fingers grew white around the wood of her chair, clenching tighter and tighter until all the blood was gone and her elegant nails were digging fiercely into the white skin. Absolem fluttered to her hand, and remembering herself, she relaxed, leaving deep grooves in her palms. The blood tingled painfully as it returned. 'Was it Racie?' she asked in a steely, controlled voice.

'Despite her many efforts, your sister remains securely in the Outlands. A nameless organisation holds the town and citadel, and have already begun to enforce their own laws. This is not the work of a day, Mirana - your enemies have been preparing this for a long time.'

_How can I ever trust that city again? _Mirana shook the personal thought from her mind. 'Do the other cities remain loyal?'

'A few are still resisting the rebels, but most have been untouched. I'm afraid Ortram is in the most danger.'

'Ortram is less than twenty miles from Marmoreal - if it succumbs, the organisation has a straight road to the White Palace. That road _must _be defended!'

'Your defence minister will be aware of that, and warn the Rabbit accordingly.'

'Is there a way I could somehow transmit a message back? A letter, to reassure the people that I have not abandoned them?'

Absolem sighed. 'The Trees listen passively, but inactively. I do not think they will take either side.'

'What became of the return potions I entrusted to you? Can you not go home with one and return here with more?'

Absolem beat his tiny wings and glared at her. 'No, I cannot. For one thing it is uncertain where I would land upon my return to Otherland and it could be several days before I reach Karzaron, by which time I have no doubt you will have got yourselves into even more trouble, and for another, I do not have the Jabberwocky blood at present. A certain feline thief snatched them from me while I was distracted last night, for _safe-keeping_. I have not seen him since. I _had_ planned to use one to return you safely home. Although,' he added almost lazily, 'I would be unable to use it on you anyway.'

'A pity; for it would have been a wonderful solution... Do explain, Absolem.'

'It is the effect of a simple substance the guards have been concealing in your food and drink.'

_'What?'_ Horrified, Mirana whipped around to the scraped-clean plate. 'What poison is it? What other effects will I feel? How long until they are triggered?'

Absolem rolled his eyes. 'There are no outward effects. The substance simply renders you immune to the effects of any other magical substance or potion taken in. They thought it necessary in your case, due to your commonly-known fascination with potions and remedies.'

Mirana sighed gracefully and resignedly. 'Then I will stop eating the food from now on, and hope it will wear off in time. That should stop it.'

Absolem inclined his head. 'Yes, that would work. _Or_ you could activate the substance before consuming it.'

The Queen frowned. 'I don't see how…_oh!'_ Her years of chemical training and interest kicked in at full speed; terms and definitions she hadn't needed for a long time flooding back. 'The ingredient is not a catalyst but a reactant; it needs more of itself to deal with every new magical energy it attacks therefore by reacting it, the food becomes effectively _neutralised_ and so, harmless… Simple, once one is on the right wavelength. I owe you thanks again, Absolem.'

'I accept no debts,' he replied curtly. 'Fairfarren, Mirana of Marmoreal.' Then he was gone, vanishing through the window of her cell.

Mirana smiled, fingering the tiny bottle of pishalver concealed in her bodice at all times; made up of worm fat, urine of a horsefly, coins from a dead man's pocket and most importantly - two doses of Wishful Thinking and one of Royal Saliva. It would be at least another hour before the food tray arrived, so she glided over to crouch before the bookshelf, examining each title and refusing to recoil from those she found distasteful. If she could not leave her cell, she would strive to be as useful as possible within it.

_Slay my pawns, take my rook, imprison my knights and capture the Queen; but never presume checkmate, Sagredver of Otherland._

* * *

*Mezswenn is the name of Kwogedonn's species.

**A horribly long delay, and I'm so sorry. I've had a plan for this chapter for a while, but although the first part was written a few weeks ago I struggled a lot with the second part which put me off every time. Finally I just gave up on that idea and welcomed in some new ones! This chapter surprised me several times and deviated from my careful little plans in scattered notebooks, ending up being sort of a filler chapter, but I hope you guys enjoy it and that you haven't all given up on me :) Again, thank you all so much for the reviews, favourites, alerts and views! I would bake each and everyone of you a cake if they would only survive the posting...**

**Disclaimer: Nothing except my OCs and Otherland belong to me, unfortunately. Even good old Santa couldn't get me Underland :'(  
**

**Hope you all had a Very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year!  
**


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